Beau and the Witch
by Lulai
Summary: This is a story about what would happen if Beauty and the Beast got switched. A princess is cursed and a young man has to save her, even if he doesn't know it. Oh, and they have to watch out for her evil sister. IT IS FINISHED! Chapter 16.
1. Preperations

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Hello and welcome to my story! This is my first fan-fic, although not the first story I've written. I know their isn't much plot here yet, but have no fear! It will soon arrive! Probably next chapter or so. I don't want to go on forever here, so I'll just let you get on with it. Oh, and excuse the misspelling of the chapter title. I was going through a brain spasdoramic.

I hope you enjoy it.

Lulai

****

Chapter One: Preparations

"Confound it!" Lia stuck her thumb in her mouth, ignoring the dirt and greenery that coated it. She could faintly taste the coppery tang of blood where the thorn had poked the fleshy pad. "Confounded roses," she muttered around the injured digit.

Princess Annalia Fer Drewery, seventeen, and second princess to the Drewery throne was kneeling in the dirt in front of her rose bushes, a pair of pruning sheers in one hand. To look at her, one wouldn't imagine that she was royalty. Her long red hair was tucked neatly away underneath a blue handkerchief and her blue dress had a great deal of dirt smeared all over the front. A light smattering of freckles was sprinkled across her nose, a result of being out in the sun too long. Her thumb was placed quite unceremoniously in her mouth.

Gardening was her one true passion. Ever since she was small, Lia felt drawn towards nature and plants. She remembered being only seven, watching intently with wide eyes while the gardener taught her how to weed and water a small bean stock. She kept such good care of the bean stock that soon it was the best bean stock in the garden. Ever since then, the Royal gardener loved having her around and had taught her everything he knew. Still not satisfied, when Lia was thirteen, she went to the local healing woman and learned how to use the plants that she loved so much to heal people. She sucked up the woman's knowledge like a thirsty desert sucks up water. She soon had her own reputation as a healer.

She inspected the cut to see if it had stopped bleeding and found that it had. Brushing her moist thumb on her dress, she stood up, walking towards the patch of garden where she kept her herbs. She was bent over, inspecting a small patch of Floden when a familiar voice called out from the distance.

"Annaliiiia!" the voice sang. Sighing, Lia straightened. She had hoped to avoid her sister.

"Annalia," Princess Clarissa Fer Drewery said, walking up to her, making sure that neither her skirts nor her shoes became soiled with a single speck of dirt. She was dressed beautifully in a purple gown with her blonde hair streaming down her back with just the right amount of curl. She always made Lia feel like a country bumpkin compared to her sister, with her carroty red hair that had a tendency to frizz any way it wanted and her dirty clothes.

Lia put her hands on her hips to show that she did not like her sister interrupting her. She secretly wished that Claire would just go away instead of bugging her about Claire's nineteenth birthday ball. It was all she talked about lately. The birthday bash – and the subsequent engagement to Prince Fredrick, who's looks were rumored to cause women to faint.

Lia snorted to herself. As if looking at a man would cause someone to faint. They probably had their corsets on too tight.

"Annalia, I was just coming out here to make sure that you would have sufficient time to prepare yourself for the ball," Claire said in a sugary sweet voice. "I do not want you to forget and have to rush, and therefore embarrass me in front of Freddy." Freddy was Claire's new pet name for Fredrick, just as he called her Claire Bear. Of course, this was all through letters, which Claire never failed to read to Lia. The soon-to-be couple had never actually met in person until tonight.

"Do not worry, I will not be late," Lia said, silently tacking on, _if you would stop pestering me!_ "I have a dress ready and will be up within the hour to prepare."

"Oh, Annalia, you are not wearing that horrible green dress, are you?" Claire made a slight face.

"No," Lia soothed. She did think of wearing it, just to spite Claire, but she had a special dress made up for the occasion.

"Shouldn't you be getting ready?" Lia inquired, her tone matching Claire's sugary insincerity. "After all, you are much prettier than I. You need more time."

"You are so right, dear sister," Claire gushed. "I must be ready for dear, sweet Freddy. I shall see you tonight." Claire left in a rustle of skirts, letting Lia get back to her work.

After about an hour, Lia stood up from beside her herbs, brushing off her knees. She gathered the dead plants at her feet and dropped them off at the composting section of the garden. Smiling widely, she made her way up to her rooms to get ready for the ball.

She entered her rooms, painted in soothing shades of blue and green, and preceded straight to the baths. She stripped out of her dirty clothes and threw the handkerchief in a corner of the room to be picked up by the maids. Someone had obviously seen her coming and drew a bath, for the water was still hot and bubbly.

Sitting down gently so as not to burn herself, Lia sighed in utter pleasure as the dirt and grime of the day was washed away in the soapy water.

"I was wonderin' when you were goin' ta come outta tha garden," Guthra said, bringing a towel.

"Oh, I thought about staying there all day, but I though about how much my sister would miss my presence and decided not to disappoint her," Lia said with a grin. Guthra lay down the towel and picked up Lia's hair soap.

"Nay, but donna anger her, Lia-bean," she said as she ducked Lia's head under the water. "Some people o' the village have been sayin' that she's been apractisin' magic, she is. Ye might not be all tha safe."

Lia snorted as Guthra massaged the soap into her wet locks. "I don't think that's possible. Magic? Claire? She can barely dress herself."

"Aye, that may be true, but mark me words, missy. Donna be settin' fires where ye canna put them out."

"Yes, Guthra," Lia said meekly. Nonetheless, she wasn't about to let the threat of possibly making her sister angry upset her evening. Lia was determined to enjoy herself as much as possible.

After her hair had been cleaned, and wrapped around strips of cloth to set, Lia stood up out of the tub water, now cold, and into the towel that Guthra held open for her. She walked to the closet and opened the doors to take out the dress that she had specially made that night. As she twirled around, imagining all the handsome men she was going to dance with, Guthra laid out her undergarments on the royal blue four poster bed.

"Now, ye stop all tha twirlin' an' come ova here so I can dress ye." Lia didn't immediately stop dancing, but she did spin over to where Gutra stood, hands on hips, and lay the dress beside the other clothing on the bed. She handed the towel to Guthra and pulled on her drawers and the chemise.

Grinning foolishly for no particular reason other than she felt happy, Lia lifted her hands above her head and let Guthra slide the dress down until it fit her body snugly. She ran her hands down the ivory silk, studded with little pearls, letting the smoothness of the fabric fill her senses. The long sleeves that flowed around her arms were a slightly lighter color of the inner sleeves that hugged her arms. The neckline went right around her upper torso, showing off her shoulders.

Lia smiled as she sat in the chair in front of her vanity. Guthra placed Lia's silver necklace with its diamond rose around her neck so that it lay between her collarbones. She accented her ears with two more diamonds. Guthra unwound the straps of cloth in her hair, causing Lia to gasp. Instead of frizzing out like it would have done normally, her hair fell in soft spirals.

"I learned tha from yer sister's maid, I did," Guthra said, beaming. She picked up the pins and in no time had Lia's hair falling from a beautiful knot at the top of her head. Two white flowers made her hair seem less carroty, more... exotic. Lia didn't even recognize the person in the mirror.

Lia stood up and spontaneously grabbed her nurse in a big hug. She was surprised by the tears she felt forming in her eyes.

"Thank you," she whispered into Guthra's shoulder.

"There there, Lia-bean," Guthra said, patting her on the back. "T'was no problem." She pulled Lia up and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Ye should sit here awhile, yer nose is all red." Lia laughed and covered her nose with her hand.

"That's alright, I have to wait until the trumpets sound to go downstairs anyways." She picked up a book that was lying open face down on her nightstand. "I can always finish 'Ronald and Isabelle'. I'm at a good part, where they fall in love."

Guthra sat back in the rocker in the corner of the room and picked up her knitting. "Aye, love is a grand thing, Lia-bean."

Lia looked at Guthra curiously. "Do you think I'll ever fall in love? I can't even see what my prince would look like."

"Aye, missy. I think ye'll fall in love in all due time – an' when ye least expect it, too."

"Hmm..." Lia murmured. She really didn't think that anyone could fall in love with her, and she didn't really think she could fall in love either – at least not how Ronald and Isabelle did. She could do flowers, but Ronald always gave Isabelle flowers, not the other way around. Lia frowned. She wasn't overly good at flirting, or reciting poetry, or even playing music. She could sing a little, but that was about the extent of it. In fact, she didn't think she could do a single thing that Isabelle did to attract Ronald.

"Oh well," she murmured to herself. Lia picked up her book and was soon lost in the courting of Ronald to Isabelle.

After two hours, the trumpets finally blared out their song to invite the royal family downstairs. Lia, on the last page of her book, scanned the final paragraph quickly and closed the cover.

"Done," she said, standing from her chair. "Do I still look alright?"

"Perfect," Guthra said, after giving her a look down. "Have fun."

Lia took a deep breath and walked out the door.


	2. Curses

Hello again everyone. Thank you all for reading my story. Because chapter three is kinda short and boring, I figured I'd post it now to get it over with.

**Stubble 96:** Thank you! I always try to make good characters, be they good or evil.

**MistyQueen:** I'm glad you liked the beginning! I always try to start with a little bit of story, instead of starting with backgrounds. I think it's more interesting.

**Lollipop5:** :O I'm on a favourite's list? Thank you so much! You make me feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside. I hope the story keeps up with your expectations.

I'll see you all next update.

-Lulai

Chapter Two: Curses

"Announcing King Cornelius Fer Drewery the Fifth, King of all Protantia," Lia heard the announcer boom from the top of the steps, "along with his daughters, Princess Clarissa Fer Drewery and Princess Annalia Fer Drewery." At this announcement, Lia swept into the grand ballroom, and began proceeding down the side stairs. She met with her sister at the middle, where the two stairwells joined and kept going onto the dance floor.

"You look absolutely wonderful," Lia said truthfully. No matter how much her sister annoyed her, Claire always did look beautiful. Her golden hair was swept back from her face with a lovely barrette of emerald incrusted gold. Her deep forest green dress offset her blue eyes brilliantly.

"As do you, sister," Claire responded. Lia was taken aback by the look of jealousy and... hatred? in her eyes. But then it was gone, and Claire was smiling once more. Lia felt a little uneasy, but continued on with her sister, their arms interlinked.

"Tonight you will meet Prince Frederick," Lia said to her sister, hoping to at least look a little like a normal family.

"Oh, yes," Claire responded with a faraway look in her eyes. "My Freddy will come and sweep me off my feet, and we will be married by Monday."

"Of course," Lia muttered.

At the bottom of the stairs, the sisters left each other and intermingled within the guests. Lia was having the time of her life, dancing with many dukes, and barons, and other nobles of the court. She even approached a shy young man, who hadn't danced all evening for a rousing country dance. After thanking her quietly, the young man faded back into the woodwork. Lia shrugged and went to get herself a glass of punch.

"Announcing Prince Frederick Fer Gorntal, Prince of Karridon," the herald boomed. Lia, still holding her punch in one hand, raised her vision to the top of the stairs. There stood a handsome young man with vibrant ebony locks cut in a slightly longer than fashionable style. Lia looked at him curiously. He _was_ handsome, but she didn't feel faint, even as he descended the stairs. She shrugged and turned her attention back to the plate of fruit that a servant held in front of her.

"Excuse me," a deep voice purred seductively behind her. Lia turned, the strawberry still half bitten in her mouth. She quickly chewed and swallowed.

"Yes?" she responded coolly.

"I knew from your letters that you were an extraordinarily beautiful woman, but I did not expect my fiancée to be a genuine Faery Queen," Prince Fredrick said.

"Wait –"she tried to respond, but was interrupted by Fredrick.

"You have no idea about how long I have been wanting to do this to you, Claire bear," he said, and before she could protest again, had dipped her down so quickly that she dropped the half a strawberry she was still holding, his mouth posed to kiss her.

"Hold on a second," she said, throwing her hand in front of his mouth. His eyes widened incredulously. She pushed his face back from hers and stood up straight. "Your highness, before you go along and kiss me, you should realize that I'm not your fiancée."

"You're not Princess Clarissa?" he asked skeptically.

"No," Lia responded. "I'm Princess Annalia. Your 'Claire bear' is standing right over there." She pointed to her sister, red faced and fuming. _That doesn't suit her complexion at all_, Lia thought with a wry grin.

Prince Frederick made his way over to Clarissa, who was still dreadfully angry. Lia picked up her half a strawberry mournfully, but gave it to another servant to dispose of. She pretended not to listen as she mulled over her fruit, but she still kept one ear and eye on the couple. She could not hear exactly what they were saying, but Claire's countenance became softer as Fredrick obviously flattered her. Finally, she smiled and placed her hand in his and they went out onto the floor to dance.

Lia sighed in relief. It would have been torture for her if her sister hadn't forgiven Fredrick. Her thoughts were interrupted by another man wishing to dance. She agreed readily.

After many more dances with different men, including one more with the shy man, Lia excused herself once again. She felt flushed and stepped out onto the balcony to get a breath of fresh air. The moonlight bathed the gardens in a mysterious glow and Lia was once again entranced by the beauty of nature. Smiling, she stepped down onto the cobblestone walkway and slowly walked through the various flowers until she reached the stone bench. She sat down and closed her eyes.

"Princess?" a deep voice sounded in front of her. She'd recognize that purr anywhere. She opened her eyes to see Fredrick standing there, looking down on her.

"Yes?" she asked shortly. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with my sister?"

"Well, the truth is, although I came for you sister, I have found myself unable to keep my mind off you." Lia was absolutely speechless. Fredrick mistakenly took this for an invitation. He stepped closer to her, so that she couldn't escape around him. "Your fiery hair and silver eyes have entranced me; I am going to your father tomorrow to see if I may have my engagement changed to you."

"What?" she squeaked. She cleared her throat. "But I don't want to marry you," she said, stronger. "And you want to marry my sister. I think, your highness, that you have had a little too much to drink." She tried to push her way past him, but he stopped her.

"Please, Lia, my love, will you marry me? I have brought you a flower to show my true feelings for you." Out of his coat pocket, he pulled out a slightly crumpled red rose.

Lia was appalled. She snatched the rose out of his hands. "You cut one of my roses without permission?" she hissed. "And look what you've done to it. It's all broken."

Fredrick looked taken aback. "I –"

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

Lia looked over to see her sister standing there, her hands clenched at her sides, her face mottled red.

"Claire bear –"Fredrick tried, but Claire ignored him. She pushed him aside and pushed her finger into Lia's face.

"This is all YOUR fault!" she yelled. "First, you steal my admirers then you try to steal my fiancé!"

"I didn't try to steal –"Lia tried to defend herself, but her sister was beyond angry.

"LIES!" Claire screamed. "Everyone has always liked you better, thought that you were prettier. But NO MORE! I will end that right NOW!" She began to chant in a strange language. Lia was struck breathless, and her knees went all weak.

"HA!" Claire gloated. "Now we will see who thinks you're beautiful." Fredrick recoiled from Lia in horror.

Lia whirled around to look at herself in the fountain. The face of an old woman stared back at her. She instinctively put her hands to her face and was aghast to see that the old woman did the same. Her sister laughed cruelly behind her.

"Here," she said cuttingly, throwing the crumpled rose at her. Lia picked it up dazedly.

"You can try to break my curse, if you can, but you only have until the rose wilts. Then you will be an old woman forever. Think of it," Claire said with a smirk, "as your youth wilting away."

Lia turned and ran, but Claire's cutting laughter followed her.


	3. Help

(Just as a side note, Lark isn't the main male interest in this story. He comes in a little later. Lark is more like Lia's buddy then anything. -Lulai)

Chapter Three: Help

Lia ran and ran, down the dark streets of the town of Numar by the castle. She ran so hard that her heart hurt and she had to stop, lest her old legs give way beneath her. Sliding down a wall into a sitting position, she lay her head down in her hands and wept. She wept and wept until her voice was dry and raspy and her sleeves were soaked.

"What are you doing out here in the dark, weeping, old mother?" a kindly voice asked. Lia raised her head to find a young man peering at her curiously.

"Go away," Lia said, and her eyes filled with tears again. Even her voice sounded old.

"I don't think I will be leaving a nice lady like you out here in the cold when you could sit by my fire and be warm, now could I?" he said jovially. "Come." The man helped her up as she found that her legs could barely support her. He helped her into a carriage, and she felt herself lulled to sleep by the gentle rocking.

Lia woke up suddenly. She sat up, and looked around her at the unfamiliar cottage. Suddenly the events of the night before came back to her. She held up her hands to examine them. They were still wrinkled and veined. But unlike the other night, Lia didn't feel like crying. She felt like tearing her sister limb from limb. Lia was shocked by the amount of hatred she felt for her sister.

"So you're awake," the laughing voice said. The young man that had rescued her last night stood beside the bed, holding a steaming bowl of soup.

"Hungry?" he asked. Lia's stomach gave an answering growl, causing Lia to blush. To cover it up, she frowned.

"What's in it?" she asked. She sniffed. The smells of Morrington herb, Blueroot, and Hoddycop assaulted her nose.

The man laughed. "I think you know already."

Lia nodded and accepted the bowl of soup. The flavour burst full and warm on her tongue and smiled her thanks.

"I must be going," she burst out suddenly. "I thank you for taking me into your home and feeding me, but I must get going, I have things I need to do."

The man looked amused, which annoyed Lia greatly. "What things need doing, old mother?" he asked.

"None of your concern, young lark," Lia responded testily, setting the soup on the floor. The man's smile grew wider, as if her acid remark had pleased him.

He went suddenly to the closet where he pulled out her dress from last night. Remarkably, it showed nothing of her run through the city. She felt sure that it would have at least a little dirt on it.

A sudden thought went through her mind. "How did you get my dress off?" she asked, growing increasingly worried. "Did you undress me?" She threw the covers off, and stood up, at least semi relieved to see that she wore a light blue cotton dress.

"Goodness, no," the man laughed, causing Lia's scowl to deepen until she could almost see her eyebrows. He snapped his fingers, and suddenly her dress was green. Lia's grey eyes widened.

"What the?" She looked closely at the grinning man in front of her. "Who are you? What's your name?"

"I liked the name you called me earlier. Lark, you can call me. I am, what I believe you would call a Fey."

"A Fey?" Lia gasped, sitting down suddenly on the bed. Her heart started beating funny. Lark was immediately beside her, and laid a hand on her chest. Her heart resumed its normal rhythm.

"I'm in a Faery house?" Lia asked, looking around. It was a small cottage, warm and cozy with a small cot and a large fire place. It was delightfully lined with herbs of every assortment.

"Actually," Lark responded, "you're in your house. At least this is the house you can live in until your spell is broken. I hope you come to think of it as your house in any case."

Lia looked at Lark with surprise. "You know I'm under a spell? Can you break it? Oh, confound it, where's my rose?" She started to rise, but Lark pushed her back down.

"Unfortunately, I cannot break your spell. The curse was made under severe hatred and that made it incredibly strong," Lark looked a little disappointed in himself. "But, I can help you. I've extended the life of your rose," he pointed to the rose, sitting in a simple glass vase of water. "It will not start to wilt until your nineteenth birthday. After that, you have two years until it is totally dead."

"But how can I break the curse?" Lia exclaimed. "I don't know the first thing about magic."

"That, I also can help with," Lark said. "You must find someone who can see you with their heart's eye. Only then will the spell be broken."

"But... I cannot go traipsing all over the country side looking for that one person," Lia said, her heart sinking.

"Of course not," Lark replied with a grin. "I shall send them to you. You just need to do what you do best."

"And what is that?" Lia asked skeptically.

"Heal. Soon you'll have a reputation that'll bring hundreds of people to your door. I'll help you." Lark grinned at her.

"Why are you helping me?" Lia asked bluntly.

Lark looked at her with a friendly smile. "Because you danced with me twice at the ball."


	4. Captured

Bah, sorry about the long wait. It was like all my teacher's got together and decided to put all their major projects due on the same day. I had an English Project, a History Project, a French Project, and a Chemistry Lab all due on the same day. Plus a band concert. But, hectic week is over now, so I'll try and get my butt in gear!

**Stubble96:** Yes, I love Lark too. I've always kinda wondered why Beauty had to be the girl, and the Beast the guy. I guess I'm just weird that way.

**Mistyqueen:** Yeah. I just find that faeries happen to show up and find out who's nice for no particular reason other than sport, or whatever. But this might not be the case here. (Oo, foreshadowing)

**Child of Immanuel:** Thanks a bunch! I love to hear from my readers!

**Black Sheep Alone:** Whoa! I'm so honoured that you put me on your favourites! I only hope I can keep up the expectation!

**Lollipop5:** Thanks! I'm trying to make my own story as much as I can while still keeping the general theme (ie:BandtheB) the same. I'm taking my influences from the book and the Disney movie, so there's a little bit of mixing in there. But you think Clarissa's bad now, you just wait. (Oo, more foreshadowing!)

Thanks for the support! I'll try my very hardest to update faster!

I loves you all!

-Lulai

Chapter Four: Capture

Robbie angrily scrubbed at the pot in the sink. He absolutely _hated_ his life here. One of four brothers, he was neither old enough to be respected, nor young enough to be loved. Plus the fact that he had no skills in trade or art or anything other than cooking and cleaning. He was feeling less like a man, and more like an old woman.

Robbie's scowled deepened. And he was a man, dammit! He was almost twenty! Far too old to be cleaning pots and scrubbing floors. He often dreamed of getting away, fighting battles and rescuing beautiful damsels in distress, just like in the stories that he read with regular enthusiasm, but then he remembered his skill with a sword, and he just went back to whatever meaningless task his brothers put to him.

Robbie took out his frustrations on the cooking pot that Tobin had scorched. His irritation only increased when he saw his brothers coming up the dirt path to the cottage. His two older brothers, Tobin and Quincy, were holding a large deer between them. His younger brother, Derrik, was carrying three sets of bows and arrows.

It was Quincy who had given him the nickname 'Beau', claiming that Robbie was only really good at sitting around and looking pretty. The name was a double blow, insulting him not only for his lack of talent, but also that he was the only brother who had inherited their father's brown hair instead of their mother's blonde.

As Robbie watched the three tow-headed siblings come up the path, chatting amicably, Robbie again wished that he could be somewhere else, _anywhere_ else.

"Beau!" Quincy shouted as he entered the cottage.

"Robbie," Robbie muttered under his breath, knowing that it was useless.

"After ye are done the dishes," Quincy continued, not hearing him, "we want some supper. We have a beautiful buck that Tobin is cleanin'; we certainly couldna trust that to ye, Beau, and then after, when ye is cleanin' up, the rest o' us are goin' to the tavern."

"What if I want to go to the tavern?" Robbie asked.

"Ye? At the tavern?" Quincy laughed, an ugly hicking laugh that caused little daggers into Robbie's heart. "My dear Beau," he said, wiping tears from his eyes. "Why would ye wanna go there? All they do is brag and drink, an' ye neither have anythin' to brag about nor any stomach for alcohol."

Quincy was right, but Robbie still felt extremely slighted. He turned back to his sink and his dirty pots and pans, and his horrible life. "We're out of carrots," Robbie muttered.

It was Derrik who overheard that statement, having popped his head in the door for a bigger knife. "Outta carrots?" he asked. "I know just where to get 'em. That old witch always grows the best vegetables. I donna know how, prob'ly magic."

Robbie dried his hands on his pants. "How much money do you need?" he asked, going over to the mantle. Their funds were very low at the moment, as their father had not returned home yet to replace them.

Derrik had a sly grin on his face. "I donna need money. I'll just mosey over her little wall an' grab a few."

Robbie looked up, horrified. "You mean you're stealing from her?"

Derrik shrugged. "O' course."

"How long has this been going on?" Robbie asked.

"Oh, I dunno. A couple months, at least," Derrik said, walking back out of the door.

Robbie whirled on Quincy. "Did you know about this?" Robbie demanded angrily.

Quincy narrowed his eyes. "O' course I did. It's alright. There's four o' us, an' only one o' her. It's only fair."

Robbie threw up his hands. He would never win an argument between his brothers. He just hoped that Derrik didn't get caught.

"How long does stealing a few vegetables take?" Robbie exclaimed after he hauled in the remaining strips of venison for cooking for dinner that night. The rest he and Tobin had hauled into the smoke house to cure for later.

"I dunno," Quincy said. "He should be back by now."

All three brothers jumped at a loud knock at the door. Tobin and Quincy both looked at Robbie. Robbie sighed and went to open their door.

"Are you the brother of Derrik?" a jauntily grinning man asked him.

"Yes," Robbie answered with a sinking feeling.

"This is for you." The man handed over the note, turned around and walked away.

"Who was that?" Tobin asked.

"No idea," Robbie answered truthfully. He opened the letter. After a brief scan, he snorted and threw it on the table.

"It's Derrik," he said disgustedly. "He got himself caught by the witch and now she's making him work off the debt."

"What?" Quincy exclaimed, standing up. "I'll go kill the witch."

"Bah," Robbie said. "What are you talking about? She's letting him off easy. Thievery is a hanging offence, Quincy." Quincy had the conscience to look abashed at that.

"I'll go talk to the old witch, try and buy Derrik back," Robbie volunteered.

"Now?" Tobin asked.

"Of course not," Robbie said, slapping the strips of meat into the frying pan. "I'll leave tomorrow."

Lia was stirring a pot of vegetable soup over the fire when she heard a small commotion from the garden.

"Lia," Lark called from the doorway. "I caught something in the garden."

Thinking it was a rabbit, Lia answered, "Well, bring it in so that we can eat it."

The young man entered, dragging behind him a tow headed boy. Lia felt a little disparaging when she thought of how she would have thought him old, had she been her young self. She shook her head, trying to dispel the thoughts.

She turned nineteen a week ago, and as such, she was occasionally having trouble keeping on a brave face.

"He was stealing your carrots," Lark interrupted her thoughts.

Lia's eyes narrowed on the boy. "So you're the one who has been stealing my vegetables. What do you have to say for yourself?"

The boy tried to look brave, but then fell to his knees begging. "Please don't eat me! I have family, an' they would miss me bad."

"I'm not going to eat you," Lia said disgustedly, "but you are going to have to work off that debt that you accumulated."

She came forward to grab his hand to pull him up, but the boy flinched away from her, knocking into the table. As Lia watched in horror, the vase that she kept her rose in fell over, dumping the contents all over the floor.

Lark quickly righted the vase and added water, but it was already two late. Only two petals remained on the rose.

"How long?" Lia asked, her mind and lips feeling numb.

"About two weeks," Lark answered sorrowfully, before pushing the boy into the spare room and locking him in.

"I'm sorry," he said simply, as he knelt with Lia amidst the water and rose petals.


	5. Meetings

It's not a long chapter this week, but I just wanted to get it out there before everything started happening. Midterms are looming e'er near. Wish me luck!

**EreshkigalGirl:** Thank you very much.

**Lollipop5:** Poor Robbie. He's so downtrodden. (sigh) I guess I'll just have to find him the right woman. (rubs hands gleefully with artistic delight)

**Mistyqueen:** Yup. He's gonna have to fall in love if he's going to save Lia and the kingdom. I have a feeling that Lia's not going to make it easy for him though.

**Black Sheep Alone:** Hmm... Now that you say it, tow-headed does sound kind of little kiddish. Maybe, golden-lock'd? Straw-hair'd? :D Anyways, Tobin is around 25, Quincy about 22, Robbie is almost 20, and Derrik is 16.

**Pabo:** Thanks! Don't worry, I'm not going to stop this story until it's done like dinner.

**Stubble96:** I think it's called 'artistic liscense' but all's good! I hope you like the next chapter!

You guys make me feel all gooey inside.

Though that might be the Halloween candy. XD

Nope, it's you guys.

Good reading!

-Lulai

Chapter Five: Meetings

Robbie hitched his bag a little higher on his shoulder. When he had counted out money on the mantel that morning, the small purse had held such a little amount, that Robbie had brought some extra things. His own things, of course. Neither Tobin nor Quincy would give up what they considered theirs, even to buy back their brother. But Robbie felt the tiniest bit guilty, as he _was_ the one who asked for the carrots that got Derrik caught.

In his bag were some of his own trinkets, little jewels and figurines that his father had brought him from various travels, and a few of his books. Those, and the clothes on his back, were all that he owned. He secretly hoped that the witch wouldn't take his books. They were his escape from reality.

He started down the dirt path that lead to the little cottage, but paused in surprise to look at the small herb garden behind a small wicker fence. It was obviously well taken care of.

Robbie took a deep breath, squared his shoulders, and lifted his fist to knock on the door.

Lia almost fell off her stool where she was hanging her herbs at a knock at the door. Grumbling to herself, she stepped slowly off the stool and hobbled over to the door. Pulling it wide, she had to stop and stare at the man standing in front of her.

Lia wasn't short, even as an old woman, but standing next to this man made her feel petite. He had to be at least six feet tall, if not taller, but wasn't at all beefy like the blacksmith or the farmhand that occasionally came to her for remedies. He was strong and lean with hair the colour of rich chocolate. His eyes were a vivid green, the colour reminding her of freshly unfurled oak leaves.

Lia suddenly realized that she was staring, and snapped, "Well, don't just stand there staring, noddycock. Come on it and tells me what ails you."

To her amazement, the young man flushed. "Actually," he said in a slightly embarrassed voice, "I've come to buy back my brother."

This man was related to the boy she had locked up in her spare room? She peered a little closer at him. Yes, she could see a little bit of a resemblance in the chin and jaw. He had a nice chin and jaw.

She shook her head to clear her thoughts. _You're two weeks away from permanently being an old lady_, she thought to herself, _you can't be staring at handsome young men_.

"He stole many of my vegetables," Lia said sternly, inviting him it. "But we may be able to come to some agreement."

The young man came in and politely sat in a chair that Lia indicated. Lia put a kettle on the fire for tea.

"First off," she said, "what are your names? Your brother won't tell me his."

"My name is Robbie," the young man replied, "and the brother that you caught is named Derrik. And you?"

"My name is Lia," she responded. "So, Robbie, as I stated earlier, your brother has been stealing my vegetables for some time now."

"I know. If I had known, I would have stopped him, but we don't speak much. We aren't known for our love of one and other," Robbie said. If Lia was thinking anything she didn't show it on her face.

Robbie cleared his throat. "I'm afraid I don't have very much money," he started, but Lia shook her head.

"I don't want any money," she stated. Robbie looked at her, surprised.

"What do you want then?" he asked.

"Well, Robbie," she mused, "as you see, I am quite an old woman now. I need help around here."

"You are turning my brother into a servant?" Robbie asked angrily.

"Of course not!" Lia retorted. "I am merely making him work off his debt. I have some chores that need doing that I am unable to do."

Robbie let out a little chortle. "Good luck with that, Ms. Lia. Getting Derek to work is like pulling teeth."

Lia glared at him. "Well, work he shall, or I shall send him to the proper authorities."

"You can't do that!" Robbie protested. "It would break my father's heart!"

"Well, I'm not going to let him go skipping merrily on his way after costing me some of my harvest, plus planting work," Lia retorted.

A half-formed plan began to formulate in Robbie's mind. "What if I work here instead?" he blurted out.

The old woman seemed taken aback by that. "You?" she asked. She thought about it for a few moments. "I don't see anything wrong with that, I guess."

"Then it's settled?" Robbie asked, standing.

"Just one more question," Lia asked, also rising. "Why are you doing this for a brother you don't really like?"

Robbie looked away for a second then turned back to her. "Because it was my fault he got caught. I asked for the carrots."

Lia raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. They stood there for a second, just looking at each other until they were interrupted by the shrill whistle of the kettle.

"Settled," she said, and stuck out her hand, which Robbie immediately grasped and shook. A small spark went through both of them at the contact.

"You get that off the fire and pour it into the pot while I go unlock your brother," she instructed to cover up her nervousness.

Robbie shrugged his bag off his shoulder into a corner and wrapped a small towel around his hand to pull the screaming kettle out of the fire. He poured the boiling water into a small ceramic tea pot sitting on the table.

"Beau!"

"Ack!" Robbie yelped in painful surprise as the boiling water splashed down the side of the tea pot and onto his hand. He set the pot down and stuck the burnt part of his hand in his mouth.

"Beau!" Derrik shouted again, being pushed none too gently towards the front door by Lia. "You must save me!"

"He already has, flickerwick!" Lia retorted with a shove that sent Derrik flying out the door. She slammed the door and spun back around to face Robbie.

"What have you done now?" she asked, hands on her hips. Mumbling to herself, she walked over to the counter where she pulled a sprig of Hatly down. She sprinkled it into a small bowl and added some water, mixing the concoction with her fingers.

"Here," she said shortly, motioning for him to hold out his hand. "This should stop most of the burning." Robbie obediently held out his hand and Lia slopped the paste on it. It immediately cooled his skin, and he brought his hand close to his face to smell the mixture on his burn. It felt like a cooling breeze all through his nostrils.

"It's strong," he said.

"Hatly is. I use it for burns, coughs, and plugged noses." As she talked, Lia began to bustle around the small cottage, cleaning the bowl in a bucket of water by a small sink and drying it on her apron. It gave him time to study her.

She was a sturdy old woman, looking about fifty, a little thin, especially compared to the women at the tavern. She was taller than most women, the top of her head almost coming to his nose. Her crinkly grey locks were held back by a blue bandana. But her most arresting feature was her huge grey eyes. Something about them was... different. He couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"Tea?" she asked, interrupting his thoughts.

"Thank you," he responded politely, sitting back down into the chair.

"Well," Lia said, blowing over her cup to cool off the steaming liquid inside, "we still have half a day left. I think I will start you chopping logs out back."

"Sounds good to me," replied Robbie softly.


	6. Fireside Discussions

Thank you for all the feedback! ::Tear tear:: I love you guys!

**TrudiRose:** ZOMG! Thank you. Your reviews were so helpful. (I didn't even notice the Derrik thing until you pointed it out.) Sometimes, I just reread my work to see if it makes sense, and my mind just goes over these little things without seeing that they're wrong, so thanks for keeping me honest!

**Stubble96:** More!

**Fiery-star90: **Thank you. I'm trying to keep her young, but still try and make it a little older fashioned. The 'Young Lark' comment was supposed to be tongue-in-cheek because he did just call her 'Old Mother.' And, by the later chapters, she's kind of getting used to the idea of being old, as she thinks she's going to be stuck like that anyways. But I'll keep your comments in mind.

**Lollipop5:** Of course she's nicer. She has an awful sibling too. (And I just realized that they were all blond. Whoops. Nothing against blondes! Honest! I was a blonde before dying my hair!) Ah well. Next chapter for you!

**EreshkigalGirl:** Thanks! I've been working out the details of this story in my head for sometime now, so its almost a relief to finally get it down on (word processor?) paper.

**Black Sheep Alone:** Yes. I was trying to decide whether to do longer chapters slower, or shorter chapters faster, but the way the chapters have been breaking up, it's definitely the latter.

My weekend's really really busy, so I might not update until later, maybe Wednesday next week. Sorry. We'll have to see what happens.

Meanwhile, enjoy the chapter!

-Lulai

Chapter Six: Fireside Discussions

Robbie huddled up uncomfortably by the fire. Every bone in his body ached. He had chopped logs for over four hours, and then stacked them beside the cottage in a neat pile. Lia had surprised him by rolling up her sleeves and helping him stack. She was a lot stronger than she looked.

After Lia pronounced the pile large enough, she had him follow behind her with a large burlap sack as she plucked weeds out of the garden. He listened as well as he could as Lia prattled on about so-and-so flower and this-and-that herb, but most of what she said went straight over his head.

After dinner of mutton stew, which was quite delicious, Robbie sighed resignedly as he viewed the dirty dishes. But, before he could even complain, Lia handed him a towel and started boiling the water to wash the dishes herself. Again, she talked while Robbie listened, until Lia finally ran out of things to say. So they did the dishes in a slightly uncomfortable silence after which Robbie hunkered down by the fire to soothe his aching muscles and Lia put the kettle on for tea. She sat in her rocker.

"Now look here," Lia finally exclaimed from her chair. "I talked to you yesterday, so I know you are not a deaf-mute. But I have been talking non-stop and you haven't said a single word. What is wrong?"

"Nothing," Robbie murmured, "I'm just a little sore."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Lia cried, jumping up. "Although this witch act is just for show, I really am a healer." She took a small sprig of a bright red leaf and crushed it into the leftover tea. She handed the steaming mug to him.

"Thank you," said Robbie. He looked at her curiously. She really was trying hard to be friendly. He figured he might as well attempt to hold up his end of the conversation. "So you're not really a witch?"

Lia snorted, quite humorously. Robbie couldn't stop the smile that curved his lips.

"Ha," she said, settling down with her own cup of tea. "I haven't a lick of magic in me." For a moment a look crossed her face. Anger? Resentment? It was gone before Robbie could analyze it. "What about you?" she asked.

"Me?" Robbie said, surprised.

"Yes, you. You are quite well spoken for a farm hand. Your brother had the normal village slur, but you don't. Were you formally educated?"

"No," Robbie said, looking into his cup. "We hadn't the money for it. I just... read a lot."

"You can read?" Lia exclaimed. "Oh, how delightful! How many do you have?"

"Well, I brought a few of my own," Robbie said slowly, "but we couldn't afford a great selection." Wasn't she going to tell him that reading was a waste of time? Instead, she stood up and grabbed his hand.

"Close your eyes," she instructed as she pulled him towards the room that his brother had been locked in earlier that day. Robbie obeyed her and concentrated on not tripping over his own feet. Her hand felt nice, strong and slightly callused, but still feminine, despite her age.

She let go of his hand in what he assumed was the centre of the room.

"Okay," she said, "open your eyes."

Robbie did, and was met by the sight of four walls of solid books. He had never seen so many books in his life.

"I'm so glad I have someone to share this with," Lia said, running her fingers of the spines of some of the books. "Please, feel free to read any of these. I would love to be able to talk to you about a book we have shared."

Robbie felt such joy rise up in him, it felt as though it was going to burst out his eyeballs. "Thank you, very much," he said. He knew he was grinning like an idiot, but he couldn't help it. "You have no idea what this means to me."

"I suggest this one," Lia said, pulling out a book entitled _Rise of the Golden Dawn_. "I loved it."

Robbie took it and ran his fingers lovingly over the green cover. "Thank you," he said again.

Lia smiled and lead him back to the fire. "That's the only problem with that room," she said contentedly as she settled back into her rocker. "No fire to keep these bones of mine warm." Robbie sunk back onto the thick rug, the book in his hands.

They settled into another silence, but unlike before, this one was an easy quiet.

"Tell me about your family," Lia said softly after some time. "I've met your brother, but what about your parents?"

"Actually, you've only met one of my brothers," Robbie responded. "Derrik is the youngest. I also have two older brothers, Tobin and Quincy."

"Three brothers?" Lia asked. "How do your parents manage?"

"They don't." Robbie couldn't help the bitterness in his voice. "My mother died giving birth to Derrik, and my father is a so-called 'inventor' and is away more often than not. My brothers and I take care of ourselves."

"Why did Derrik call you what... Beau?" Lia asked curiously.

"Quincy came up with that nickname," Robbie said, his fingers tightening on the book. "I hate it. I'm not very good at anything, so apparently, all I was good at doing was looking pretty."

"What about you?" Robbie asked, wanting to change the subject. "Any children?"

"No." Now it was Lia's turn to be bitter. "No children, although I wanted some."

"Why not, if you don't mind me asking?" Robbie didn't mean to pry, but Lia's expression intrigued him.

"I don't know," she said with a self-deprecating laugh. "It felt like one minute I was a young girl with my whole life ahead of me, and then I was an old woman."

"I'm sorry," Robbie said softly.

She smiled sadly. "It's not your fault. It's nobody's fault."

"You can always blame it on the Queen," Robbie said lightly.

"What?" Lia said, leaning forward in the chair.

"Oh, it's just something that they say in the village," Robbie explained. "Whenever something goes wrong, they say, 'Witch Queen's fault.'"

"But," Lia said with a confused look on her face, "I thought we had a king, not a queen."

Robbie looked at her strange. "Where have you been? For almost two years now, the people at the castle have been disappearing. First was the Princess Annalia, then others, until finally the King himself disappeared. Princess Clarissa declared herself ruler until her father was found. But of course, everyone thinks that she did away with her family, being a sorceress and all, so no one wants to get on her bad side. What's wrong, Lia?"

"Nothing, nothing." She laughed, but it sounded a little forced. "Just my old age catching up to me. Of course I know about the Witch Queen." She downed the rest of her tea in one gulp. "You should get some sleep," she said to Robbie, pointing to his cot. "We'll be up early tomorrow."

Nodding, Robbie climbed into his bed. The last thing he saw before falling asleep, was Lia staring into the fire, a deeply troubled look on her face.


	7. A Faerie visit

I have this chapter done a day early, so here it is!

**TrudiRose:** Thank you very much! I'm so glad you like it. If you want to know the honest truth, I actually was about halfway through that scene when I was like, "Hey! This scene's in the Disney movie too!' so I guess it all worked out in the end, eh? Yeah, I didn't want the story to be 'they met, they fell in love, the end' so I tried to add another element.

**EreshkigalGirl:** Yes. Yes it does. :c)

**stubble96:** Well, she's a little embarassed about it. Plus, she is trying to hid from her sister, and to say that she's under a curse she'd have to also reveal that she's a princess, and she doesn't really want to do that. But don't worry, Robbie'll find out.... Eventually.

**Lollipop5:** I think Chemistry has been the hardest element in this story. I'm trying to create this 'chemistry' without making it too creepy because Lia's old. :c/ Also, I hate it went things drag on forever, so I tend to have very abrupt writing. So I'm sorry if the love comes too quick.

**Shards of Dawn:** I loved the movie too! It was my second favourite movie as a kid. (My first was Aladdin). I watched it every other day. (Except for the part where the Beast finds Belle's father in his chair. I always fast forwarded that part because it scared me :c(

**Black Sheep Alone:** I didn't really want to expand on those two years because basically, Lia lives alone, except when Lark visits, she heals some people, and gets a reputation for good veggies. Plus, I really wanted to introduce Robbie. XcD

Yay! Emotions! Oo! Cliffhanger!

See you next update!

-Lulai

Chapter Seven: A Faerie Visit

"Do you have any Floden?" Robbie asked, stirring the soup for dinner. He held out his other hand, not taking his eyes off the bubbling soup.

"Here," said a voice that definitely wasn't Lia's. Instinctively, Robbie whirled around, brandishing his soup spoon.

"No need for violence, young man!" the man said, holding his hands up in front of him, laughing. The man pushed back his hood to show a young face surrounded by flowing blonde hair. His eyes were the lightest blue Robbie had ever seen.

Robbie lowered his spoon sheepishly and took the proffered Floden.

"Who are you?" he asked curiously.

"Don't you recognize me?" the man grinned. "I met you almost a week ago."

Robbie looked at him closely. Then he knew. "You're the man who brought that note about my brother!" he exclaimed.

"Ah! Correct!" the man laughed, clapping his hands together. "And what would your name be?"

"Lark!" Lia called before Robbie could answer. "I haven't seen you in almost a week!" She had a streak of dirt across her forehead, which was creased in a deep frown. She placed her hands on her hips and glared at Lark. "Where have you been?"

"Oh, here and there," he said. Suddenly, his face went sombre. "I need to talk to you, Lia," he said without a trace of his normally laughing voice.

Lia nodded, her hands dropping from her hips. "Watch that soup, Robbie. I'll be but a moment."

Robbie turned back to the soup and added the Floden, but couldn't help but look at the door which Lark? and Lia had gone through. What were they talking about? What was Lark's connection to Lia? He forcibly tore his eyes off the door. It wasn't like Lark was Lia's lover or anything.

Robbie couldn't explain it, but a deep anger grew deep inside him at the thought of Lia with a lover. He shook his head to dispel the feelings. It wasn't like it was any of his business.

It was just that Lia was a good friend, possibly the best friend he had ever had, and he didn't want her to get hurt. During their talks, he had told her things that he wouldn't tell another soul. He had watched her heal people, from the sick of body, with her herbs, to the sick of heart, with her advice. During it all, Robbie had been beside her. Sometimes, they seemed to work like one unit with one mind. They laughed about the same things, and discussed story after story that they read together before the fire. All in all, they had grown quite close in the past week.

Robbie continued to muse about Lia over the bubbling pot of soup.

"What is it, Lark?" Lia asked as soon as she had closed the door to the library.

"I'm afraid I have some bad news," Lark said severely.

"How much worse can it get?" Lia laughed bitterly. She stood on the stood and reached above the shelf to get the vase that was hidden behind a large dictionary. She stepped back down.

"I have only one petal left on my rose," she said sadly, holding the vase up for him to examine. "I doubt anything that you say can make me feel more upset than I am right now."

"Well," Lark , "your sister has found this place. I'm afraid she might try to come after you."

"Let her come," she said putting the rose on the table. She collapsed into a chair feeling frustrated, angry, and simply tired. "I don't care. My sister's taxing the entire population into starvation, in a few days, I'm going to permanently be an old woman, and I might love a man whom I can never be with." After the words tumbled from her lips, Lia realized what she had said, and her hands flew up to cover her mouth.

Lark was taken aback. "That boy out there?"

"Robbie's not a boy," Lia said without thinking. Her mind was numb again. Did she love Robbie? She had barely known him more than a week. However, she had shared things during that week that hadn't even told her nursemaid. He had become a daily part of her life until she couldn't imagine her life without him. She felt as if he knew her down to the bones, except... he didn't. Not while she was still under the curse.

"Lia," Lark said, leaning down in front of her. "Do you love him?"

"I don't know," she whispered. "I've only known him a week. Surely that's not enough time..."

"That's plenty of time," Lark said, leaning back and smiling.

"But," Lia said, feeling dangerously close to tears. She fought them back; she hadn't cried over her condition since the night that Lark had found her on the street. "But... how can I love him if he doesn't love me back?"

Lark shook his head. "Sometimes, the heart is smarter than the mind." His face grew serious again. "I would suggest you leave this cottage before the mob arrives. They might burn you at the stake."

Lia nodded, tears beginning to fall from her eyes.

Lark wiped them with the edge of his cloak. Then he took her hand and squeezed it tightly. "I'll leave you a moment to collect yourself." Lia nodded, mopping up the tears with the back of her free hand.

"Robbie?"

Robbie jerked back at the sound of Lark's voice.

"Yes?" he answered, standing up.

Without his smile, Lark looked older, serious. He reached into his cloak and pulled out a bright sword in a beautiful leather sheath.

"Here," he said, handing the sword over to Robbie, who took it carefully. "Use this to protect yourself."

"But I have no skill at all with a sword," Robbie protested, holding the sword out in front of him.

"This sword is special," Lark said. "If the wearer is Good and True, the sword will hit its mark every time."

Robbie's brow furrowed as he thought about it.

Lark broke into a grin. "Don't think so much," he said to Robbie. "Sometimes this," he poked him in the chest, "is smarter than this," he said tapping him on the forehead.

Robbie eyebrows lifted in confusion, but he nodded anyways and strapped the sword onto his belt.

"I will do my best," he swore solemnly as he walked Lark to the door.

Robbie stood in the doorframe and watched Lark disappear into the woods. But what he saw when he turned do go back into the house chilled his blood.

Off in the distance, down the path, were the distinctive pinpricks of torches. And below those, he knew, was a mob that would threaten both their lives.


	8. The Choice

Thank you all for being so patient with me!  I felt as though I had no time to write this week, but I managed to get something down! :cD

**TrudiRose:** Well, I tried to explain it in this chapter too, but Lark isn't precognitive, just very good at finding out secrets.  You'll find out later why he knows her sister's coming after her, but he had no idea about the mob.  He was warning them about a future clash, not this one.

**Lollipop5:** Yes, she's a mean one, Clarissa witch.  (Sorry, had to do that XcD) Her hatred goes a wee bit deeper than that.  The Prince Freddy thing was merely the straw that broke the camels back, to be cliché.  And, you're right!  She will be making a reappearance.

**EreshkigalGirl:** Ahh, twoo wuv!

**Ruby Serenity:** It's _my_ curse.  I just want to get to the good parts!

**mistyqueen:** I think Lia has a few tricks up her sleeve.  Or, a really cute guy with a sword.

**Shards of Dawn:** I'll try to add a little bit of their conversations here and there.  Thanks for the suggestion!

**stubble96:** Yes, well, she might have to tell him sometime.  :cO  That would be an interesting conversation, I would think.

**Black Sheep Alone:** Thank you!  I try really hard to have the most correct spelling and grammar that I can (even though  I find that grammar is one of the hardest words to spell :c/)  Don't be afraid to point out mistakes to me!  Robbie's sword is quite magical, but I'll talk about it in a later chapter.

Thank you all for your support!

-Lulai

Chapter Eight: The Choice

"Oh, God," Robbie muttered, his eyes refusing to tear away from the sight in front of him.

"Robbie?" Lia called from the doorway. Seeing him standing out there, looking off into the distance worried her.

"Robbie?" she asked again, walking up to him and laying a hand on his shoulder.

Robbie said nothing, merely pointed. Lia followed the line of his finger and froze. There on the path leading up to her house were at least forty men.

"Oh my..." Lia trailed off, lifting her other hand to her face. "Lark told me that they might come but I had no idea that they would come so soon. Neither did Lark, most likely."

"We'll have to get out of here," Robbie said. He never took his eyes off the crowd. He knew, he_ knew_, that his brothers were in there.

"No," Lia said shortly. At this, Robbie finally looked at her.

"No?" he asked incredulously.

"No," Lia repeated firmly, crossing her arms over her chest. "I will not be forced out of my home."

"They are not coming to force you out, they are coming to burn you," Robbie said, running a hand through his hair in frustration, "to burn this cottage to the ground, with you in it!"

Robbie saw a brief flash of fear in her eyes, but her jaw was set stubbornly. "I will not leave. I will reason with them."

"You cannot reason with a mob!" Robbie shouted angrily.

"I will not give up without trying!" Lia snapped back.

"It will mean your life!" Robbie felt as though a vein in his head was going to pop it was throbbing so hard.

"So be it!" Lia whirled away and looked at the crowd, dangerously close now.

He had always admired her stubbornness but not when it put her life in danger.  He couldn't bear the thought of Lia dead.

"We have to get out of here!" Robbie took her shoulder and spun her to look into his eyes. "There is nothing here for you now!" His hands tightened on her shoulders almost painfully. "Why do you insist on staying?"

Lia wrenched herself out of his grasp. "Because I've already been forced out of one home; I refuse to leave another!" she yelled.

Robbie looked into her eyes, brimming with tears of fear and anger, and again, something about them struck him as strange. Before he could analyze it, one of the men called out.

"Beau!" Robbie winced and looked towards the voice. Quincy stood at the head of the mob, brandishing a sword in one hand and a torch in the other.

"Robbie," Robbie said back. "My name's Robbie, not Beau."

"Alright, _Robbie_," Quincy mocked. "Now, come with us. We're rescuing ye from the witch." Quincy raised his torch and the mob raised theirs in response with a loud jeer.

"What makes you think that I want to be rescued?" Robbie asked.

Quincy looked at him as if he were daft. "O' course ye wanna be rescued. Do ye wanna be a slave to her for the rest o' yer life?"

"Forgive me for wanting to work for someone who actually appreciates me, instead of working for a brother that constantly puts me down," Robbie said with heavy sarcasm.

Quincy's face grew red. "Burn the witch!" he yelled to the crowd. The crowd yelled again.

"Wait!" Robbie yelled as the mob advanced.

"Out o' the way, Beau," Quincy said, swinging at him with his sword. Robbie drew his own sword and parried. Quincy stared at him, amazed, for a moment. Then he sneered.

"So you know a few tricks now," he said. "That won't save you."

Robbie ignored him but spoke to the crowd instead. "What has Lia ever done to you?" he asked them. "When has she ever done anything other than heal and help you?"

"Yer brother said that she stole ye!" one man shouted from the back.

"Do I look kidnapped?" Robbie asked, pushing Quincy away from him. "In fact this woman," he pointed at Lia where she was standing stock still, watching what was happening, "has been kinder to me than my brothers ever were." The crowd murmured to each other, their blood lust abating a little.

"This woman is kind, patient, intelligent, and resourceful," Robbie continued, knowing that his next words would mean the difference between whether their house stayed standing or burnt to a crisp. "Tompkins," he said to one man in the crowd, "didn't she help your son with that horrible cough? And Grander, didn't she mend your hand when you sliced it open with that scythe?"

"So then why are you here?" he cried. "Why are you going to kill a woman who's provided you with countless services?" The crowd looked at each other uncomfortably.

"Bah, let's go home," yelled one man.

"Yeah, I wanna go back to me wife!" another agreed. The crowd murmured it's assent and they started back on the path back to the village.

"Beau, come home now," Derrik said to him.

"I'm sorry, Derrik, but Lia's my family now," Robbie said honestly. He ignored the feeling in his gut when Lia looked at him with appreciation in her eyes.

Tobin nodded. "Let's go home."

Quincy started to turn away when he suddenly he sprung back and lunged toward Lia.

"No!" Robbie shouted, leaping in front of her. He felt a searing heat in his shoulder as Quincy's sword sank deep.

Tobin and Derrik grabbed Quincy and pulled him back. Robbie dropped to his knees as the sword came out of his shoulder.

"Look what you've done, saphead!" Lia shouted at Quincy, as she untied her handkerchief and balled it against the wound, trying to stem the flow of blood. Robbie fought the nausea and the urge to slip into numbness.

Derrik held Quincy as Tobin came forward. "Can we help?" he asked.

"I think you've helped enough," Lia snapped, but stopped and looked into his face, creased with worry. "No, he'll be fine," she said, softer. "Please, just take your other brother home. I'll take care of Robbie."

Tobin clasped her shoulder briefly, then turned and grabbed Quincy roughly by the arm and dragged him home.

"Come on, Robbie," Lia grunted, gently tugging on his torso, "get up and inside. I can't carry you all by yourself."

Robbie complied like a man in a dream or as if he were wading through deep water.

She lay him down on her cot and lifted his head. The sweet smell of Gerlan assaulted his nostrils.

"Drink this, Robbie," she instructed soothingly. "It'll help you go to sleep."

Robbie would have laughed if he had the strength. He was half asleep already. He drank it anyway.

"You saved my life," Lia said with wonderment. She brushed his bangs back from his eyes.

Robbie lifted his good arm and brushed her curly grey hair, now falling loose and free from the confines of her handkerchief. He looked into her eyes...

And saw what had been disturbing him about them.

"Your eyes," he murmured sleepily, "your eyes are too young for your face." Lia looked taken aback. Robbie looked closer, his own eyes going fuzzy. Suddenly, he was sure that her hair used to be red.

He yawned and closed his eyes, the drugs taking their toll.

"I think I love you," he mumbled softly, before falling into the peaceful blackness of sleep.


	9. Truths

:cD _Warning!! Extreme mushyness ahead!!_

So if you don't mind the lovingness, read on!

**TrudiRose:** Thank you soo much! I'm so glad you love my story.

**Brunette-Beauty:** Thank you!

**Mistyqueen:** Yes, I tried to keep the creepy vibe out of it. So my logic goes like this. Robbie does see her through his heart's eye, so he loves her on a subconcious level. So when he goes into a semi-conscious state, his true feelings come out. (A good thing too!)

**EreshkigalGirl: **:cD

**Black Sheep Alone:** My mobs do. ;c) But seriously, that mob wasn't really out for her blood. Only Quincy was. The townspeople were convinced (by Quincy) that Robbie had been kidnapped, so they were only there to really see that she got what she diserved and Robbie was returned home. But whenRobbie said that hewasn't unhappy, they all just went home.

**Elven Hearts:** Thank you! I think I've read that version too. I hope you'll continue to read!

**Shards of Dawn: **No! Not that! I don't like anyone dying! :c( Here's the update! Juste pour vu!

See you next update!

-Lulai

Chapter Nine: Truths

All Robbie could see was red. The sunlight was streaming through the window and over his closed eyes. He started to throw his arm over his face, but something seemed to restrict his movements. He gingerly opened his eyes into the midmorning sun.

Suddenly, all the memories of the prior night came back to him in a giant rush. The mob, Lia, his brother stabbing his shoulder. He opened his eyes and looked down. His shirt had been removed, and his arm was bandaged tightly against his chest. Using his good arm, Robbie pushed himself up into a sitting position.

Across the room in Lia's rocker, sat a young woman with fiery red hair, reading one of Lia's books and humming to herself softly. He cleared his throat to get her attention. Her face shot up out of the book.

"Robbie!" she exclaimed happily, laying the book aside and rushing to his side. "I'm so glad you're awake."

Before Robbie could even move, the woman leaned down, cupped his face in her hands, and gave him a kiss right on the lips. While it wasn't unpleasant, it was very nice really, Robbie couldn't help but feel a little unsettled about kissing a stranger. Especially when it felt so right.

But then the woman's warm lips were gone before he could contemplate his emotions further. She began to bustle around the cottage, leaving Robbie sitting on the bed, his mouth slightly agape.

"I was so worried when you didn't wake up this morning, but I told myself not to bother you, as you had just got stabbed through the shoulder. I wondered if I had added to much Mostren to the tea. It would make anyone sleep through the apocalypse, Mostren would!" Amidst her talking, she had made a fresh poultice and gathered new bandages. Watching her, Robbie couldn't shake the feeling that he knew her. He just couldn't place her. She sat on the edge of the bed and using a small knife, cut away the bandages that wrapped him, carefully. All the while she never stopped talking.

"After that brother, Quincy? stabbed you I had to haul you back in here. You were bleeding something fierce and only half-coherent on top of it." She placed the bloodied bandages on the floor. He turned to look at his wound, but she caught his chin in her fingers and kept his head straight. "Don't pull at the wound, else you might re-open it! And after all my hard work too! You aren't a willowswitch, and in retrospect, I probably should have had you drink your tea _after_ I bandaged you, but you were probably in a great deal of pain."

She leaned in close to examine his wound and he could smell her hair. She smelled like roses and... goodness, he guessed. He couldn't explain it any better. She looked up at him with a smile, and again he half-recognized her.

"This looks good," she said, dipping a cloth in warm water. She began to clean the blood off his shoulder. Even though she was being exceptionally careful, Robbie couldn't hide a wince when she touched the open sore.

"I'm sorry!" she said, immediately contrite. "This is a nasty wound. I have half a mind to go give your brother a nasty lashing. Here. I'll bind this and just put your arm in a sling for the day. When you were asleep, I didn't want you flinging your arms around and prevent it from healing, but now that you're awake, you can be careful." She applied the poultice and wrapped the bandages around his shoulder quite efficiently. She washed her hands in the bowl and dried them on her apron.

"Finished," she said, slipping his shirt over his head and carefully pushed it over his injured shoulder. He pushed his good arm through as she tied his other arm in a sling. "You were better than most of my patients, but then you know about that." She began to stand up.

"Who are you?" Robbie blurted out. A slow flush began to creep up his neck when she looked at him with her uncanny grey eyes. _Wait, grey eyes?_ he thought, a strange suspicion taking hold of him.

"You mean you don't recognize me?" she asked. Her face twisted a little. "Well, I guess I shouldn't have expected better." She turned away from him. Robbie couldn't help but feel that he had been insulted.

Robbie stood up angrily. "Now, I want some answers. Who are you, and where is Lia?" He grabbed her shoulder with his good hand and spun her around when he was struck by an intense feeling of déja vu. Suspicion bloomed into full-force realization.

"Oh God... Lia?" That would explain why he felt as if he knew the young lady. He _did_ know her.

"What?" she asked peevishly, glaring at him, her arms folded over her chest.

He opened his mouth, but no sound seemed to be to be issuing from it. He knew he probably looked like a simpleton, but he couldn't help it. "How?" he finally strangled out.

She looked down at her toes. "Well, I don't know," she muttered, seeming embarrassed.

"What do you mean you don't know?" he asked irritably. "You must have some inkling why you were an old woman of fifty yesterday and a young woman of what, sixteen? today."

"Nineteen," she said petulantly.

"Still," he said. He tried to look into her face, but she kept her gaze on the floor. He decided to use a different tactic.

"Lia," he said, squeezing her shoulder. "You don't need to keep secrets from me. Haven't we told each other all about us? You even know my deepest secret."

Finally, _finally_, she looked up at him. "How you're afraid of spiders?" she asked, a touch of humour in her voice.

Robbie laughed, in relief as much as anything else. "Yes. Can you imagine. Me? Afraid of spiders? I'm far bigger than they are but they just give me the willies. Do you know how much that could damage me and my reputation?" he joked. "That's how much I trust you. I wish you could place the same trust in me."

He looked deep into her eyes and his voice lowered to a whisper. "Whatever it is, you can tell me. I won't stop loving you."

His last words seemed to be her undoing. She burst into tears, heart wrenching sobs that Robbie almost couldn't bear. He gathered her into him, and she grabbed his shirt in her hands and cried into his chest. Slowly her sobs died into little sniffles.

"Oh, Robbie, I'm sorry," she said, mopping up her tears with the back of her hand. She looked up into his face and gave a watery chuckle. "I was being foolish. I kept thinking that you would recognize me immediately and not care about why I changed, but that was silly. You see, I don't want you to get hurt, and by telling you, I will drag you into the middle of this."

"I'm already hurt," he said with a wry grin. "So, no need to worry. If I can handle my brothers I can handle anyone."

She looked at his shoulder. "See? You were already hurt in my defence. I simply don't want that to happen again. What if they miss your shoulder and get your heart? I don't think I could bear it."

"But, I wouldn't be able to sit around while you were in trouble and still feel good about myself," he retorted softly. "Surely you understand that."

"Yes," she said, smiling at him. Her smile shot straight through him in a warm zing of pleasure. "Your loyalty is one of the things I love about you." She took a deep breath. "I don't want to tell you because I'm afraid you will treat me distance yourself from me and I love you too much for that to happen."

"I will never do that," Robbie promised. He lowered his head to hers. "Never," he whispered against her lips. He kissed her soft mouth, trying to say in actions all that he felt. He tightened his arm around her waist, pulling her towards him, until it felt as though they were a single unit. Lia responded in kind by sliding her hands into the back of his hair, pressing his lips more firmly on hers.

He pulled back slightly, pressing loving kisses all over her face.

"So?" he said, brushing her copper locks out of her slightly flushed face.

"About the kiss?" she asked breathlessly, her arms around his neck.

Robbie laughed and touched his nose to hers. "Actually, I was talking more about you."

Lia took a shaky breath and let it out. "I was cursed by sister. She thought I was stealing her fiancé," she said, rolling her eyes.

"And you weren't," Robbie expanded.

"Of course not!" she said, slightly affronted. But then she relaxed again. "The man kept throwing himself at me."

"No wonder! A pretty girl like you," Robbie said in a teasing voice.

"Silence, you wretch!" Lia said back with a grin. "Anyways," she continued, "she cursed me to look like an old woman until someone could see me 'through their heart's eye'. And I guess you did that," she said with a shy smile.

He gave her a smile in return. "Your sister?"

She bit her lip, uncertainty. "Princess Clarissa," she said quickly. "Or I guess Queen Clarissa as she now calls herself, although I was sure that my father was still alive. Perhaps – "

"Lia," Robbie interrupted, "are you telling me that your sister is the Witch Queen?"

Lia nodded, hesitantly.

"Does that mean that?" Robbie left the question unfinished.

"Yes," she said, uncertainly, "I'm the Princess Annalia."

There was a moment of silence as Robbie absorbed this. This day had been crazier than any other day of his life. In fact, the last week felt like his life was turned up side down. But he felt happier at this moment than he had ever rembered feeling.

"So what are we going to do?" he asked. Lia's face relaxed into a sunny smile.

"Well," she said, "I would really like to see what happened to my father. So I would like to travel to the capital."

"But isn't that where your sister is?"

"Yes, but we don't need to even see her. Just try and find out information." She looked at him pleadingly.

"Alright," he said, kissing her nose. "We'll leave tomorrow."


	10. Travels

Ack! I'm glad that the whatever-was-down is now back up. I've been checking in everyday to see if I could update. My week has been _crazy._ I don't know what it is, but eveyone seems to say... 'Wee! Christmas in a month! Let's do everything possible to keep everyone uber busy!!' Bleh.

Anyway:

**EreshkigalGirl:** :c/ I just really wanted a mushy scene, and I didn't want it to drag on forever. So it might seem a little quick, but meh.

**TrudiRose:** Thanks! :cD It was really fun to write. I'm so glad someone interpretted that how I ment it. I reall want to get back to Clarissa, just because it's so fun to write evil people.

**Elven Heart:** Thanks! I'm glad you liked that. I thought it might be a little too cliché for him to recognize her right away.

**Tiger Lily21:** Thank you very much! I love these characters so much, it might bea little hard to finish because I won't want to leave them.

**Phillippa of the Pheonix:** Thanks! It was kinda hard, but I tried to go for a more of a best friend love that went deeper than an attraction that became love.

**mistyqueen:** Yeah, well as I said above, I just kinda wanted to, not get itover with per se, but more like okay, 'yay! love!'and get on with the story.

**Black Sheep Alone:** Inconceivable! giggles along Who doesn't love a little fluff? I'm a sucker for good romances. Now that I think of it, that's probably why I made their love scene so quick, cause I hate it in a book when they are both in love, but they don't do anything about it. Or, pusheach otheraway because of various excuses. Boo. be in love and half other problems.

**fell4adeadguy:** Thank you! I know what you mean about trying to switch the characters, like, straight out of the movie or something? That would be really kinda strange.

Thank you all for the imput, compliments, and the constructive critisisms. I'm grateful for all of them!

-Lulai

Chapter Ten: Travels

"Robbie, sit down!" Lia commanded, stopping her bustling to glare at him with her hands on her hips.

Robbie glared back obtusely. "Lia, I do not want sit like an invalid while you do _everything_," he said, exasperated.

"Well, you are going to," Lia said, turning away from him. "You are not going to strain yourself and make me patch you up again." She picked up a cloth sack and handed it to him.

"Here," she said. "If you want to feel useful, hold that." She began packing. Herbs, bandages, foodstuffs, two bedrolls, and spare clothing disappeared into the bag. The fireplace was closed down and the grate put in front and locked. Pots and pans were either put into the bag or stacked neatly on top of the hearth.

Robbie moved as if to help, but Lia gave him such a glare that he stopped with a sigh. "Who's looking after the cottage?" Robbie asked instead.

"Tompkins," she said, resuming her general tidying. She was sweeping the dirt and little bits of herbs off the floor into a little neat pile.

"What did you tell him?" Robbie asked curiously.

"I told him I was my granddaughter," Lia said, grinning up at him. "I said that my dear sweet grandma wanted to go see the Big City before she died and if he could look after the cottage while we were gone."

"When was this?" Robbie asked.

"Yesterday morning," she replied. "He came up while you were sleeping and wanted to apologize for the villagers. I told him my grandmother was too tired from all the excitement from the prior night to be bothered. Tompkins asked what he could do for us, and that's when I asked him to look after the house and gardens." She stopped sweeping and leaned on her broom. "After all, I did save his son. Well, if not saved, then helped." She swept the little pile out the door and turned back with a look of satisfaction.

She put the broom beside the sink and took a scroll that she had left on the table.

"Robbie?" she called after she had flattened the scroll on the table and stared at it for a few minutes. "Um… Where are we?"

Robbie walked over to where she was standing. In front of her was a beautifully detailed map. Robbie pointed to a dot about three inches northeast of the capital.

Lia's gaze shot up to his. "Are you sure?" she asked. "That's three day's travel from here! It wasn't that long in the coach!" She paused. "At least it didn't _feel_ like three days. But I was asleep. And it was Lark's coach…" she trailed off.

Lia straightened decisively. "Alright," she said, rolling up the scroll. "Then we had better get going." She shoved the map into the sack that Robbie held while Robbie fumbled with his belt buckle.

He cursed softly under his breath and Lia started to move to help him, but he uttered a small grunt of satisfaction when he finally managed it. He sheathed his sword and began to pick up the bag, but Lia pulled it away from him.

She shouldered the bag and walked outside. Robbie followed along behind closing the door behind him. She locked the door and took a step back.

Robbie became worried when she just stood there, looking at the rough oak door. She was being unusually quiet. He reached down with his good arm and entwined his fingers in hers.

"We'll come back," he said softly. She looked up at him, smiling in gratitude. He squeezed her hand then brought it up to kiss the back.

"Thanks," she said softly. She took a deep breath and, not removing her hand from his, walked out of the village and into the forest towards Lia's old home.

They sat before the campfire, staring into the flames. Lia's head lay on Robbie's drawn up knees.

Robbie had found the small clearing after a day of walking. Lia built the fire while Robbie got out the dried beef and cheese that they were going to have for dinner. After they ate, Robbie wrapped two small apples in leaves and put them into the fire.

The hot apples were even sweeter than Lia expected. When dusk approached, they had spread their bedrolls before the flames.

"Why are we going to your old town?" he asked softly.

"Because," Lia hesitated, "I need to see what happened to my father."

"You're not just going there to show your sister that you broke her curse?"

"Of course not!" she said sharply, lifting her head to give him an angry look. "I'm already feeling guilty about you being hurt on my behalf; I'm not giving my sister any reason to hurt either of us."

"I'm sorry," Robbie apologized. Lia's brows lifted into her hairline.

"You're sorry?" she said, surprise colouring her voice. "For what?"

"For doubting you," he said. She smiled and melted back into him, laying her head on his knees again. This time he did not resist stroking her hair. He smiled softly when Lia's soft rumble reached his ears.

Robbie was more than half asleep himself when he snapped awake. He _felt_ rather than heard someone behind him. He quickly rolled Lia off him as gently as he could while standing up. He drew his sword.

Lark stood there, grinning his customary grin. Robbie lowered his sword with a smile.

"Confound it, Robbie!" Lia said, standing up, holding her head and scowling so fiercely that her eyebrows looked like an orange 'M'. Robbie winced. He obviously hadn't rolled her off softly enough.

"Lark!" she rounded on him. "What is the meaning of sneaking up on our camp in the middle of the night? And speaking of sneaking, what's the meaning of telling me that a mob is coming and then leaving? What would have happened if they were actually out for my blood?" She was on a roll now. "If you knew that my sister sent them, don't you think that I might have needed your help? But you seem to think that giving Robbie a sword is sufficient protect-"

"Is she always like this when she wakes up?" Lark interrupted, speaking to Robbie.

Robbie, wise enough to know not to answer, shrugged.

"First of all," Lark turned back to Lia, "that mob was not sent by your sister, they were sent by _his_ brother. How else do you think that they went home so easily? I assure you, your sister's people will not be that simple to beat. Second of all, I think that Robbie protected you quite effectively."

"Well," Lia said, still angry, but quite deflated.

"And," Lark continued, "I thought you might want some company. And an inn to sleep in."

"An inn?" Robbie asked. "I don't know of any inn around here."

"Well," Lark said with a grin. "That's because it's not around here." He snapped his fingers and suddenly, they were in a warm common room.

"Now where are we, Lark?" Lia asked, her hands on her hips.

"Home, Lia," he replied.

"We're here?" she asked, her mouth dropping open.

"Yes," he replied grinning. "That is one of the advantages of travelling with a Fey. No travelling time."

"Well," Lia said, irritably, "if we now have beds, I'm going to take advantage of it. I'm going to sleep. Goodnight, gentlemen." With that, she walked into one of the rooms and closed the door.

Lark waited a moment and turned to Robbie. "I'm afraid I must leave you again," he said. "Watch over her, every moment. I'm not sure what her sister is up to yet, but I will find out." He patted Robbie on his sore shoulder, but instead of the pain Robbie was expecting, a warm tingling flowed down his arm.

Lark smiled, a rare true smile, and said, "You'll need that arm later."

Robbie looked down at his arm in amazement, moving his tunic to see the wound. He pulled off the bandages and where the gaping wound used to be was now a faint white scar.

Robbie looked up to thank Lark, but he was gone.


	11. The Marketplace

Ugh. I apologize for the lack of updatingness. I've been quite sick with the flu and in bed for about a week now. I'm still feeling a little queezy, but I figure I have to update before I lose what few people read my story. So, if it's a little short and confusing, blame the stupid virus that's reproducing in _my_ cells. Erg.

**Sirenic Griffin:** Again, apologies for the wait. I'm glad you like the story. I'll try and get back on schedual.

**mistyqueen:** Thanks. :c)

**Ereshkigal Girl:** I know how you feel. Bleck. But, can I ask you what your name means? Ereshkigal sounds kind of familiar, but that just might be because I've typed it for pretty much every update.

Here's the chapter.

pukes

-Lulai

Chapter Eleven: The Marketplace

Lia woke up to the early morning sun in her face and considered rolling over and going back to sleep. She sighed and decided that she may as well start the day, as she had no real idea how she _was_ going to start the day. She reluctantly flung off the covers and swung her legs out. She wiggled her toes on the cold floor then stood up.

Walking over to where her clothes were hanging, freshly washed, she mused about what Robbie and she were going to do. They couldn't just walk up to the castle and ask her sister what she had done to their father. Perhaps there was someone in the marketplace they could ask.

"Lia, are you awake _yet_?" Robbie asked, opening the door.

"Robbie!" Lia shrieked, throwing her dress up to cover herself.

Robbie turned bright red and backed out of the room, with a barely audible, "Sorry."

Lia sighed when the door closed. Her shift _was_ indecent by general standard, but it was better then nothing. She pulled her dress over her head and ran a brush through her hair. She quickly plaited it and tied it off with a blue ribbon.

"I am ready now, Robbie," she said, walking into the common room. Robbie was still looking pinkish and wouldn't look her in the eye.

"Oh, stop being such a niddlehead," Lia said irritably, opening the door to exit the inn.

Robbie let a slow smile creep across his lips. He'd seen the princess in her underclothes! He followed her out the door. He liked her hair better undone. His grin deepened at the thought.

They stepped out of the lobby onto the main road. Robbie offered her his arm, and she took it without thinking, then gasped.

"Robbie! Your arm!" she exclaimed. "What happened to it?" She pulled the tunic back from his shoulder to examine the white scar. She poked at it and looked at his face for any hint of pain. There was none.

"Lark healed it," Robbie explained, shrugging off her hands. He threw his other hand towards the shops. "Shall we?"

"Sure," Lia said, settling her arm more firmly in the crook of his elbow.

The marketplace was mostly as she remembered it, except… There seemed to be a pall cast over the whole town, even as the sun was shining. No one really seemed to be smiling, and although the merchants were still as loud as ever, there was no buzz of friendly chit-chat.

Lia walked up to a fruit merchant with Robbie in tow.

"Two apples a copper!" the merchant bellowed. Lia held out her hand to Robbie in which he deposited a copper coin from the bag on his belt.

"I'd like to buy two apples," she said, handing him the coin. The merchant handed her two green apples.

"What has happened here?" she asked him.

"Wha' do ye mean?" the merchant queried, handing a melon to another customer.

Lia thought carefully about how she was going to phrase her question. "I was here two years ago," she started cautiously, "and the city seem very full and friendly. Now it's so grey and hurried."

"Ah," the merchant said to her. "Tha' would be on account of her majesty tha Queen." He lowered his voice and looked around nervously. "Some say tha' she be apractisin' magic up there in tha castle. Tha otha princess, Annalia, tha nice one, she disappeared two years ago, and tha King not too long after tha'. T'was all downhill from there."

He motioned Lia closer. "Some also say tha' tha people she magics, they still be there in the castle. Ye'd better watch yerself, girlie."

Lia nodded. "I understand. Thank you." Robbie handed the vendor one silver coin for his information. The merchant bowed to her, and they walked away.

Lia was nibbling on her lower lip in thought.

"What is it?" Robbie asked her quietly.

"The thing that has bothered me the most," she replied after a moment, "is where did Claire learn magic?" Her brows came together slightly. "She never did well in her studies and the only thing that really interested her, before Prince Frederick, was clothing."

Robbie thought about it for a while, and they walked along together in silence.

Robbie spoke up first. "I don't know about your sister, but, honestly, I wonder why Lark has even bothered with us. I mean, what does he have to gain by helping you?"

Lia shook her head. "I don't have any answers," she said. She looked up to where the castle loomed, almost ominously, over the small town below. "I think all the answers are in there, but I have no idea how to get in there."

"Stop! Thieves!" shouted a voice from behind. Lia and Robbie turned their heads, and to their amazement, a man pointed straight at them.

"What?" Lia exclaimed at the same time that Robbie said, "We're not thieves!"

"Stop them, someone!" Lia and Robbie noted the futility of their protestations. They turned and started to run down the back alleys as a horde of people chased after them.

"We… have to… get… to the castle!" Lia panted as they ran. "I know some hiding places there!"

Robbie nodded, and turned down another alley, leading towards the gate.

"Got ye!" An armoured man grabbed Lia's arm, jerking her to a halt.

"Get off of me!" Lia yelled, struggling to break free.

"Let her go!" Robbie said, drawing his sword.

"Robbie!" Lia shouted, "Behind you!" Robbie whirled around and blocked the sword from another soldier that had appeared from behind them. He managed to disarm the soldier, but before he could savour his victory, he heard an enraged bellow from Lia.

"Let me go!" The soldier was practically lifting Lia off the ground in an attempt to carry her away. Lia was resisting as much as she could, but she wasn't nearly as strong as the soldier.

"Look out!" she called suddenly. Robbie turned again, but too slowly. The soldier brought the hilt of his sword down on Robbie's head.

"Stop struggling or we'll kill yer boyfriend," the soldier sneered, holding his sword at Robbie's throat. Lia immediately stopped squirming and let the soldier tie her hands.

She glared at the soldiers. "If you knew who I am…"

The soldier holding her laughed cruelly. "We know who ye are, Princess. Yer sister ordered us ta bring ye in." The other soldier had tied Robbie's hands and feet and was now hoisting him over his shoulder.

He pushed Lia ahead of him, towards the castle. Lia gulped. Her stomach sank with every step. She was going to see her sister again after two years. What would Claire do to her this time?


	12. Back to the Castle

Yay! Back on semi-regular updating schedual! I'd like to thank you all for being patient through my time of great sickness. I had almost forgotten what being healthy felt like. Now I have a shwack of homework to do, but hey! that's what the weekend's for, right?

**fell4adeadguy:** yup. :c)

**TrudiRose:** Next chapter for you!

**AriellaCinderella:** I don't know. Claire's poopy. I guess when you have everything, some people just want more.

**Sirenic Griffin:** :cD Thanks for the well wishes. Ugh, that was so gross. And now I have about a weeks of homework to do. XcP

**mistyqueen:** Here you go!

**ErishkagalGirl:** Meh. Sorry. And your name is really really cool, especially now I know the meaning.

**Elven Heart:** Yeah, probably. But sometimes Lia doesn't want to do what I want her to do.

**UruvielTinuviel:** Yay for Lark! And I think next chapter or the chapter after you find out where Lark keeps going to.

I'll be away all of Saturday, so I'll try and get the next chapter done and up by Friday night. If that doesn't happen, it'll be up Sunday morning.

Keep on Truckin'!

-Lulai

Chapter Twelve: Back to the Castle

Lia had to will her legs to hold her up as the front gate was lowered. What was she doing here? She should never have come. She should have stayed at her little cottage with her garden, her youth, and Robbie. Robbie!

Lia craned her neck around the armoured soldier's green surcoat to see Robbie slumped over the other soldier's shoulders like a bag of wheat. He seemed to be having difficulties because of Robbie's height, for he was muttering some of the worst curses Lia had ever heard.

"Paterick!" the soldier pushing Lia along shouted. "Wha' is yer problem?"

"This lug's heavier than an ox," the second soldier shouted back angrily. "Why didna I git tha girl, and _ye_ carry this sack o' bricks?"

"Cause I'm a rank above ye," the first soldier replied. "Move, Princess," he growled, pushing her so hard she stumbled. Luckily she caught her balance before she went face first into the moat.

As she was marched down the hallway to the throne room, Lia noted that all the soldiers' surcoats were the same emerald green. It was confusing. Where were her father's soldiers' yellow coats?

They came to a split in the hallway. Paterick, still carrying Robbie (and still swearing) turned off to the left. Lia was pushed towards the right hallway.

"No!" she said, digging her heels into the ground. "Where are you taking Robbie?"

"Just t'his room," the first soldier said with an evil grin.

"But there are no rooms over there, just the…" Lia's mouth dropped open as the layout of the castle came back to her. "Just the dungeon!" she finished. The soldier began to push her again. She renewed her attempts of escape.

"Let me go! I forbid you to take him to the dungeon!" Lia was sliding backward, towards the throne room, away from Robbie, but she took a perverse sense of pride in the fact that she was making the soldier work for it.

"Ye forget, Princess, who gives tha orders aroun' here," he said angrily. He finally became fed up with Lia's protestations and grabbed her waist, hoisting her over his shoulder much like Robbie was.

Lia kicked at his chest and banged on his back, butshe did not even denthis armour and it just managed to hurt her hands.

"Put me down!" she yelled.

She stopped yelling when she saw the portraits of her ancestors that lined the walls. The portraits were positioned right outside the throne room. She scowled. As much as she didn't want to see her sister, if it was inevitable, she at least didn't want to be carried in rump first.

"Please put me down?" Lia pleaded.

"An' what would make me wanna do tha', Princess?" the soldier said.

"I'll behave," she muttered, "I promise."

The soldier gave her a distrustful look, but acquiesced with her demand. She was lowered to her feet. She took a deep breath, and straightened her shoulders as much as she could with her hands still tied in front of her. She lifted her chin to the proper angle and let the soldiers open the door for her.

"Announcing Annalia Fer Drewery," the herald boomed. Lia stood in front of the dais and looked on her sister for the first time in two years.

Princess, or Queen, Clarissa Fer Drewery was as beautiful as she had been the day that Lia had left two years earlier. She wore another velvet dress of deep forest green and her hair was done up in an intricate style, pinned in place with the gold and emerald barrette that she had worn the night of the ball. On top of her golden head was a heavily jewelled golden tiara.

"Ah, sister," Claire said. Her voice was sweet but Lia could hear the underlying mockery. "You are looking… young."

"Thank you, Claire," Lia responded in the same tone. "You are looking well too."

Claire laughed, a small tinkling laugh that was as beautiful as the rest of her. The entire court, who coloured the walls with their peacock clothes, laughed with her. One of them caught the corner of her eye, but she wasn't about to take her sight off of her sister.

"Still the same old Lia," said Claire. "Or perhaps, the same young Lia?" She laughed again.

"Where is Father?" Lia demanded of Claire.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," Claire clucked, wagging a perfectly manicured finger at Lia. "So impatient. Not even a moment to spare for your dear sister?" She spoke this last to the audience, and then lowered her voice to a stage whisper. "I'm sure he's around somewhere," she said, leaning towards Lia.

Lia could feel her face starting to flame at the court's laughter. Claire gave her an insincere smile.

"You looked tired, sister," she said. She waved her hand with a mighty gesture. A chair slid out from the wings to stop behind Lia's knees.

"Sit," she said with another wave of her hand. Lia fought the pressure on her shoulders with all her might. A slight frown began to wrinkle in between Claire's perfect brows.

Lia gasped for air as little black dots appeared before her eyes. The pressure became too much and she had to sit down or pass out.

"There," Claire said, smiling again. "Comfortable?"

Lia just glared at her sister.

"Now then, what to do with you." Claire mused for a few minutes, pursing her lips and tapping her finger on her chin dramatically, trying to look thoughtful. Lia thought she looked ridiculous.

"You've been able to break my one curse," she said, "and I don't really feel like putting another one on. Much too taxing. I might get a wrinkle. Besides, I think I'd like to keep you where I can keep an eye on you."

Claire motioned to the doors. "Guards! Take the Princess to the Southern Tower and lock her in! Make sure she's guarded at all times!"

The soldier who had lugged her in stepped halfway into the courtroom and bowed.

"Yes, yer majesty." With that he took Lia's arms and lead her off.

"Good bye, Lia," Claire waved insultingly at her. "I hope to talk to you again soon." Then the doors shut with a soft boom that echoed down the hall.

Lia allowed herself to be lead up into the small tower, where the ropes tying her hands were cut. She was shoved roughly into the little room. Lia looked around. It seemed that Claire had moved all of Lia's furniture into the tower. She promptly collapsed on the bed.

_I will _not_ cry, I will _not_ cry_, she chanted to herself, burying her head in a pillow. Despite her mantra, a small sob escaped her lips.

"Aw, donna cry, Lia-bean."

Lia looked up. She would recognize that voice anywhere.

"Guthra?" She looked around the room, but saw nothing but her furniture.

"Yes, ova here!"

Lia climbed off the bed and began inspecting the room. "This isn't the time for games," Lia said with a sniffle. "Where are you?"

"Look at yer dresser," Guthra said.

Lia went over to her white dressing table and sat down in the chair. Guthra's face suddenly appeared in the mirror, causing Lia to jerk back andalmost tip her chair over. She regained her balance and pulled the chair closer to the dresser.

"Guthra?" she asked, running her fingers over the mirror. It felt like glass, but there was no mistaking Guthra's face on it. "What happened?"

"Well," Guthra said with a sigh, "after ye left, Clarissa began t'get rid o' everybody who stood in her way ta tha throne. Those closest ta ye were first. She tried ta turn us inta inanimate objects! Unfortunately, she still was a littl' unpractised. We ended up like this, inanimate, but alive an' knowin'. By tha time she got aroun' ta tha soldiers, she was better. She just shunted all us halfies up here in the towers."

Lia listened intently. "Do _you_ know where my father is?" she asked.

"Nay," Guthra answered with a shake of her… head? "But he was one o' tha earlier ones, so I'd imagine he'd be here in a tower."

"Thank you, Guthra," she said. She really wanted to hug her old nurse, but she wasn't quite sure how to hug a mirror, or if Guthra would even feel it.

"Now, I need to get out and find Robbie before they torture him, or something," Lia said with a worried frown.

"Robbie?" Guthra asked.

"He's… um… my… uh…," Lia stammered, feeling her ears grow hot.

"Oooh," Guthra crooned with a knowing look.

"Stop that," she said, blushing furiously.

"Stop wha'?" Guthra asked innocently.

"You know what I'm talking about," she said with a feirce frown.

"No idea," Guthra protested.

"Insinuating... well... you know," Lia waved her hand, but trailed off. "Robbie's not like that."

She cast a loving gaze on Lia. "What's he like?"

"He's nothing like what I thought my prince was going to be like," she said with a happy sigh. "He's not even royalty. But he's kind, and generous, and intelligent, and as stubborn as I am."

"Sounds like a good match to me," Guthra said with a happy smile. "Here's what I suggest you do to get out of here."


	13. Rescues

**Disclaimer: This is where myPG rating comes in. There is some light swearing and a little killing. Consider yourself warned. Oh, and while I'm at it, everything that you might recognize from coming from a movie, I probably got the inspiration from said movie. All the characters, though, are mine.**

I've been chasing cars all day, and boy am I exhausted! (Larf, larf) But seriously, I got in at 1 am this morning and I'm very tired. But I finished the chapter and here it is!

**TrudiRose:** Danke.

**Tiger Lily21:** Sometimes my chapters are a little short because it's kind of where they end. This one is a fairly long one becauseit takes a bit longer to tell. Oh, and I called Claire poopy because she's an evil character and I used to call mean people 'poopy' all the time.

**fell4adeadguy:** Wee!

**UruvielTruviel:** Bam. That's right. I tried to incorporate little things in my story from the movies.

**EreshkalgalGirl:** Me too.

**Sirenic Griffin:** Well, here it is!

**mistyqueen:** Thanks!

**violingirl7:** Ah, romance. The affliction we all seem to share. :cD

I loves you all, preciouses!

Eager to get the third extended edition LOTR

-Lulai.

Chapter Thirteen: Rescues

"An' now I'm gonna lower ye out tha window!" an older woman's voice bellowed from inside the princess' tower.

"Shite!" the guard cursed loudly, quickly unlocking the door. If he let the princess escape, he'd probably be turned into a chair, or a chamber pot, or something else equally unpleasant.

"Princess?" the guard asked in a low voice, holding his spear in front of him. There seemed to be no one in the room, but there was a bed sheet tied to the bedpost.

"Shite," the guard swore again, lowering his spear and heading towards the window.

He heard a creak behind him, but before he could turn around, something crashed over his head and everything went black.

"Did I hit him too hard?" Lia asked, still holding the top of the chair in her hands. The other half of the chair lay broken around the unconscious form of the guard.

"Nay, lass," Guthra said. "But ye had better tie 'im quick before anyone else shows up."

Lia nodded, throwing the other half of the chair away. Before she tied him though, she removed his armour. With a great deal of grunting and cursing, she managed to get one of her dresses on him.

"Annalia!" Guthra admonished. "Where did ye learn such language?"

Lia looked up with a generally disgruntled look on her face, but then grinned at her friend. "I've healed a lot of people in the village in the last two years. Most of them were farmers. I must have picked up some of their more volatile phrases."

She tied his hands and feet and, half pushing-half rolling him on the bed, threw the covers over him.

Her next task was to try and reassemble the armour on herself. With a lot of stripping back down and some advice from Guthra (only about half of which was helpful), she finally managed to get most of it on.

"How do these knights do this everyday?" she fumed, buckling on the chest plate.

She coiled her braided hair around her head and tried to jam on the helmet. After a few tries, she gave up.

"This isn't going to work," she said, glaring at the helmet as if it had somehow offended her.

"You might have to take out your hair," Guthra suggested, "and just pile it inside the helmet."

Lia sighed. "Probably." She undid the ribbon and undid the plait with her fingers. She twisted her hair into a messy sort of lump on top of her head and held it with one hand. Then in one fluid motion, she managed to get helmet on her head with the majority of her hair inside.

"Umm, Guthra?" Lia asked, looking at her. "Could you, like, turn into a mirror for a couple minutes?"

"Sure," Guthra said, disappearing. Lia tucked at her hair, making sure every fiery lock was hidden underneath the helmet.

"There," she said, sliding her hands into the gauntlets. She looked in the mirror. She was a little short for a guard, but if no one actually looked very closely to her, she might pass for a man.

Grabbing the keys and the spear from where the guard dropped them, she closed the door and locked it.

"Good luck," Guthra yelled. "An' donna be gettin' yeself killed!"

"No worries," she called back. Unfortunately, the she did not completely feel the bravado her voice implied.

She began to march down the steps. The armour was slightly too large causing her movements to be slightly stiff and disjointed. It was a long way to the dungeon.

"Robbie had better be alive," Lia muttered irritably to herself.

Robbie was in fact very much alive, although he felt as though he would rather be dead. His head was pounding. He sat up off the dingy floor of the dungeon he was lying on. Gingerly touching his head, he couldn't help but wince when he found the small lump on the top of his skull.

The last thing he remembered was the soldier holding Lia then… nothing.

"Lia?" he asked.

"Ye're tha only one 'ere," a voice said, "well, besides me an' tha guards."

"Who are you?" Robbie asked, holding his head as he stood up.

"I use ta be tha prison ward," the voice said mournfully, "but now I'm trapped 'ere, same as ye."

Robbie looked around, confused. He seemed to be the only one in the cell.

"_Where_ are you?" Robbie asked.

The voice sighed. "Look at tha lock."

"What?"

"Just look at it," the voice snapped.

Robbie shrugged and leaned in to the lock that kept the bars of his prison closed tightly. A gruff face adorned by a large beard appeared suddenly. Robbie gave a little bit of a shout and fell backwards.

"'Ey!" one of the guards shouted, "shuddup in there!" He gave Robbie's cell a good whack with his spear.

Robbie shut his eyes tightly, counted to ten, and opened them again. The face was still there.

"I must still be suffering from that blow to the head," Robbie muttered to himself.

"Ye're sufferin' from nothin'," the lock said irritably. "I've been enchanted. Half tha castle is enchanted."

"Hmm," Robbie said noncommittally. It was nice to know that he wasn't going crazy, but still. An enchanted castle? It sounded like something out of one of his books.

And where was Lia?

He turned to the lock. "Do you know where Lia is?"

"Lia? Ye mean tha Princess Annalia?" the lock asked in surprise. "I think I heard tha guards talkin' about puttin' her up in tha South Tower."

"I have to rescue her," Robbie said. "She's in deep trouble."

"An' ye're not?" the voice asked, dryly amused.

Robbie glared at the lock. "See here, Master Lock-"

"Deggory."

"Master Deggory," Robbie continued, "I will not leave Lia in the hands of her sister. I promised to protect her."

Deggory was silent for a few moments. "Very well, then," he said finally. "Here's what ye can do. In an hour or so, one o' tha guards will bring ye yer food for tha day. I'll distract 'im, an' ye can steal his sword." Deggory looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Ye _can_ fight with a sword, right?"

Robbie knew he couldn't, but his pride wasn't about to take that blow. "Of course," Robbie snorted indignantly.

"Then ye just need ta sneak up tha' secret passage behind tha picture o' tha dragon. It'll lead ye ta tha library. Ye're on yer own from there."

"Thank you," Robbie said.

Just as Deggory predicted, an hour later, one of the guards came with a giant bucket of slop. He unlocked the cell door and stepped inside.

"Oy! Look-y here!" Deggory yelled. The guard took the bait and turned to see who it was. Robbie grabbed the man's sword and pulled, but was only halfway out when it became stuck. The guard was halfway turned around.

"Oof!" the guard moaned. Robbie had punched him in the nose, still trying to pull out the sword. Robbie put his foot on the man's chest and pushed.

The sword gave suddenly and Robbie went flying into the back wall. The guard had gotten pushed out of the cell. The guard gingerly touched his nose, trying to asses the damage, then he rushed at Robbie. Robbie held the sword with both hands out in front of him.

The guard hid the sword with the back of his hand and the sword went flying out of Robbie's hands.

"Crap," he muttered.

"I thought ye said ye could fight!" the lock howled.

"I can," Robbie growled back, "with my sword."

"Well, what are ye goin' to do _now_?"

"Improvise," Robbie said, grabbing the bucket of slop and hitting the guard a neat uppercut with it. The guard flew back again, but this time his head hit the wall with a sickening thud. Robbie dropped the bucket. He could already hear the other guards coming.

"Where's the weapons closet?" Robbie asked hurriedly, grabbing the sword from where it lay.

"To your left," Doggery yelled.

Robbie found the closet and jammed the sword in. He leaned on the sword with all his weight. The door creaked, then gave around the lock. It swung open.

Robbie sighed with relief. There, on a peg, was his sword. He pick it up and faced the oncoming guards.

With the sword, fighting the guards was almost ridiculously easy. He made sure this time to keep them all in front of him. No one was going to hit him on the head again.

He parried with one of the guards, hitting him in the face with the flat side of his sword. He punched another in the nose. Another soldier came down the stairs with a spear.

Robbie disarmed his opponent just in time to see the one soldier punch the smaller soldier in the jaw. The soldier's head jerked back and his helmet flew off. A wealth of red curls came cascading down.

Robbie groaned. He only knew one person with hair that colour.

He hit his current opponent over the head with the hilt of his sword and the man dropped like a stone.

The soldier fighting Lia laughed cruelly and raised his sword. Lia closed her eyes and prepared for the inevitable. When the killing stroke didn't come, Lia opened one eye slightly.

Robbie stood there, his sword driven through the other man's armour. The man fell to his knees. Robbie pulled his sword out. The man fell over.

Robbie sheathed his sword and stepped over the dead man. He helped Lia stand and pulled her close into his arms.

"Are you alright?" he asked worriedly.

"I think so," Lia said, touching her jaw with her hand. She looked at him shyly. "I came to rescue you," she said, "but I guess you ended up rescuing me."

"I was coming to rescue you," he said with a smile, "but you already escaped. So I guess neither of us needed rescuing."

Lia smiled at him. Robbie dropped his forehead to hers and smiled back.

"I'm glad you're okay," he said softly.

"Me too," she said. Robbie lifted her chin and kissed her.

Lia forgot her sister, her father, all of her problems, even herself when Robbie kissed her. All she knew was that she didn't want it to end. She tightened her arms around his neck.

It was Robbie who broke off first. "Lia," he said, kissing the corners of her mouth.

"Yes?" she asked breathlessly.

"Marry me?"

Lia looked at him with such joy that it almost filled his heart to bursting.

"Of course!" Lia pulled him back to her happily.

Their second kiss was interrupted by a loud clearing of a throat. Both Robbie and Lia looked up.

"If I may be first ta offer ye and yer lass congradulations," Doggery said dryly, "but I think ye had better get outta here before every soldier in tha castle comes down here."

Robbie nodded. He turned and nearly fell over a chair.

"What the?" Robbie asked. Piled around the chair was various pieces of armour and a green surcoat.

Lia looked at the chair curiously. "Oh, I see. I had wondered why Claire had so many soldiers as most of them were deadly loyal to my father." She looked up at him. "She must have turned some of my father's soldiers into chairs, and turned some chairs into soldiers."

Robbie shook his head. "This castle is crazy."

He grabbed her hand and pressed the eye on a mosaic of a dragon that was placed beside the now broken weapons locker. The entire wall swung outward.

"Come on," he said, pulling her in. "Let's go."

They plunged into the darkness.


	14. An Unexpected Visitor

Wee! (Singing) One more day of schoo-ool! One more day of schoo-ool! (/Singing)

Wow! Has this christmas season ever FLOWN! I'm sorry this is a day late. I was planning on updating yesterday, but my parent's decided to get the Christmas tree last night and, of course, I did not want to be left out of that monumental decision. So, I'm updating at about 11 pm, because I LOVE YOU ALL! And I'm in a very strange mood.

**Tiger Lily21:** YAY! Thank you! I'm trying to write longer chapters, but I'm not going to make them tedious because that's, well, tedious. And I'm glad we cleared up the poopy phrase. :cD

**EreshkigalGirl:** Soon, very soon. Patience we must have.

**fell4adeadguy:** That's great news! :c) I've read a couple of your stories, and most of them arereally good! Das ist kühl!

**UruvielTruviel:** You're cool. I like you. And, for some reason I have a real urge to watch POTC. ;c) I'm sure Lia didn't count on her entire castle being enchanted. Poor Lia.

You guys all makemy day. (tear tear) I'm sending you all virtual hugs.

See you next update!

-Lulai

Chapter Fourteen: An Unexpected Visitor

It was pitch black. Lia couldn't even see her own hand in front of her face. They padded along softly in the stillness, having wedged Lia's armour behind the door so no one could follow them. She almost laughed at the ridiculousness of it all, walking along in the dark in only a chemise and leggings, but she felt as though the laugh would soon turn hysterical. If not for Robbie's hand firmly clutched in her own, she was sure that the darkness would suffocate her. She had never been very comfortable in closed in places.

_Just keep going_, she said to herself, trying to be brave. _There's nothing here that can hurt you_. Despite her bravado, she could feel the fear creeping in the corners of her mind like a grey fog.

Robbie was also trying to keep his mind off his fears.

_Spiders don't like the dark_, he chanted confidently to himself. _Nope, no spiders here. No spiders at all._ Still, every time he heard a little scuttle, he could not help but shudder. He heard a small whimper behind him and Lia's hand tightened on his. He squeezed her hand reassuringly.

"Come along Lia," he whispered to her, his voice startlingly loud in the stillness. "I'm sure we are almost there."

"I'm fine," she retorted, but Robbie could hear the small tremor in his fiancée's voice.

Robbie couldn't help but grin as they walked along. His fiancée! He couldn't believe that she accepted. He could barely believe that he had asked. There was the fight, and then he had killed that man (or chair?) who was going to kill Lia. Then there was Lia, in his arms, warm, and he wanted her. He wanted her to be his and him to be hers and to just make the feeling go on forever.

Robbie put his other hand on the hilt of his sword. With it, he could fight like a hero from his books, and he had even saved a damsel in distress. With it, he _was_ a hero, maybe even one worthy of a princess. It was that thought that had spurred him on to propose. He suddenly wanted to get this business with Lia's sister over with so he could take Lia back home.

They walked for what seemed forever in silence. Lia trudged on, her eyes cast down as if she could see the floor. It had been a long day, and now she was exhausted. Dealing with her sister, escaping from her tower, getting in a brawl in the dungeon (almost being killed in the process), then walking through this tunnel of Doom took a lot out of her. The high point of her day was when Robbie asked her to marry him. But she was even too tired to contemplate that.

A small round shape moved slightly causing Lia to jump and give a choked off cry.

"Ack!"

Robbie whirled around and pulled her behind him, his sword drawn.

"What is it?" he asked.

Lia saw the rounded thing again and realized it was her own foot.

"It's nothing," Lia said, feeling stupid.

"We must be getting close to the other end," Robbie said, sheathing his sword. "I'm starting to see some things."

Lia didn't answer. She could see the tousled profile of Robbie in front of her.

Robbie came to a stop in front of the end of the tunnel. A small crack at the bottom of the door cast a small amount of light over the floor.

Robbie put his finger to his lips in a gesture of silence, and leaned his ear against the wall. Hearing nothing, he drew his sword and pushed lightly on the door.

Peering around the wall, he found that the door opened into an enormous library, just as Doggery had said.

It looked just a little too inviting for his comfort. The fire in the huge fireplace was lit, but no one was in the room. He heard a small scuttle behind him and immediately plunged through the door. He'd rather take on the entire garrison than remain in the tunnel with the spiders.

Lia followed behind him. "Where are we?" she asked tiredly. Robbie took a good look at her. She looked exhausted. Her face was streaked and dirty and her grey eyes had great dark smudges under them. Her normally vibrant hair seemed listless.

"We're in the library," Robbie said.

Her expression brightened a bit as she surveyed the room.

"I love this room," she murmured. What she wouldn't give to spend just a day back in the library, in one of her father's huge leather chairs, curled up with a good story.

"I'd love to stay and peruse the books," Robbie said kindly, "but we have to keep moving." He put his arm under Lia's, gently guiding her towards the door.

"I wouldn't go that way," a voice spoke up from behind them.

Robbie whirled around. "Lark!" he exclaimed.

At this final strain, Lia broke. She began to cry.

Lark looked worried. "I don't usually have this sort of affect on women, I should hope."

"Lia, love, what's wrong?" Robbie asked, cupping her face in his hands.

"Oh, everything's wrong!" she said, angry at herself for crying. Goodness, she had become such a watering-pot lately! "My sister turned me into an old lady, and then a mob attacked me and almost killed you, and then my sister imprisoned me in a tower, and then I nearly got chopped in half, and then we had to walk through that _hideous_ tunnel, and then Lark appeared, and all I want to do is go _home_!" she ranted, interrupted every so often by a hicking breath. She realized she sounded extremely whiney, but she was beyond caring.

She sniffed and rubbed her running nose on her chemise sleeve and then sighed.

"I'm sorry," she said, wiping away her tears. "I'm just tired."

"It'll be okay," Robbie said, kissing her forehead. She really was a mess. She was dirty and tear-streaked and now her nose was bright red. She took a shaky breath and turned to Lark.

"So, what were you doing in my sister's court," she asked almost conversationally.

"Spying, obviously," Lark said, shrugging.

Lia crossed her arms over her chest. "I get the feeling this is going to be a long story," she said.

"Not really," Lark replied. "But we can sit anyways." He motioned to two large leather chairs and a small futon. Lia took the first chair and Robbie the second. Both of the chairs were large enough to hold two people, but Lark remained standing and paced as he talked.

"We, the Fey, have a couple rules regarding interaction with the humans. One of the rules is 'Don't interfere with Human politics.' Well, we have a Fey up in our world who doesn't like the way our King is running things. So, she figured if she could start a bit of a tussle down here in the Human world, we would be so busy that she could take over the throne discretely. Luckily, she failed and we captured her. But her powers are still down here."

"Claire!" Lia gasped.

"So that's why she seemed to receive those powers so quickly," Robbie connected. "They are actually Fey powers."

"Correct," Lark responded, nodding.

"But aren't you helping us?" Lia asked, a confused look on her face.

"Well, yes," Lark admitted. "But I had permission to. Since we were the ones who put your land into such turmoil, we felt obligated to straighten it all out."

"So how do we defeat Clarissa?" Robbie asked.

"Well, we cannot simply give powers to humans," Lark explained, "we must create a pool, or something inanimate to hold the power."

"Like a sword?" Robbie asked.

"Yes," Lark continued. "So, like your sword, Claire has something in which her power resides. Separate that from Claire, and her powers will diminish to nothing."

"Do you know what it is that gives Claire her power?" Robbie asked eagerly.

"No," Lark pouted. "Some spy I turned out to be. I can't even find what might be her pool."

A soft rumble from the chair across from them drew their attention away from their conversation. Lia lay curled up, her face resting on her arm, snoring softly.

Robbie made a motion as to wake her up, but Lark shook his head.

"Let her sleep," he said softly. "In fact, you should rest too. I'll make sure no one comes into this room." He handed Robbie a blanket, apparently pulling it from thin air.

"What are you going to do?" Robbie asked, accepting the blanket.

Lark gave him an inscrutable smile. "I'm going to see if I can find anything."

With that, he walked out the door, clicking the lock as he went.

Robbie smiled softly at the sleeping form of Lia, and crawled into the large leather chair with her. Laying the blanket over them both, he pulled her onto his chest and promptly fell asleep.


	15. The Library

Sorry, guys. Short chapter this time. But even with school over, my life is still hectic. :c/ Six days till Christmas!!

**Tiger Lily21:** Yup. Kind of. But while it's obvious to us, it may not be as obvious to the characters, so Robbie and Lia might have some thinking to do.

**fell4adeadguy:** Yes, yes it is! I'm so glad that you're writing again. :cD

**TrudiRose:** Poor guy! Afraid of those cute little critters. :c( Thanks for the compliment!

**naughty little munchkin:** Thank you so much for your awesome review! I didn't even notice that point about the books until you pointed it out. I reread it, and you're right, it is kind of abrupt. I think what happened was that I originally had Lia find one of Robbie's books and so that's what the conversation was about, but then I didn't like how it flowed, so I changed it and forgot to change that sentence.And sometimes littleconversations happen in my head and not on the paper, so I automatically assume that you are all telepathic and know exactly what I'm talking about. XcD I'll try and not do that so much. Also, the same thing with Lia. I thought that was going to be pretty much the end of the story, but then I was like, 'I can't just leave Clarissa in charge and Lia not going back to her castle, and stuff!' so I continued.

**UruvielTruviel:** w00t! Lark is pretty cool, although he's taken a bit of a back seat in these precedings lately. He's a little busy with other things. Things that will be revealed later.

All I have to say is that I'm EVIL! EVIL, I tell you!

(Cackles menacingly)

-Lulai

Chapter Fifteen: The Library

Lia murmured happily. She felt warm, but fuzzy, as if her head were stuffed with cloth. She blearily opened her eyes, wondering why the heck she was taking a nap in the middle of the day.

She looked around at where she was, momentarily confused. Suddenly, the events leading up to her nap came crashing down on her. That, and the realization that she was flung quite unceremoniously over Robbie's sleeping form, wearing only a chemise and leggings, no less.

Slowly, she pulled her leg back from where it lay across his lap, trying not to wake him. When she had successfully detached herself from him, she sat on the arm of the chair, watching Robbie sleep.

He looked so vulnerable asleep. His face was free of the worried creasing that had been occupying it so much of late. Lia sighed softly. No doubt she had made it worse by dumping all of her problems on him.

"My brave, strong Robbie," Lia whispered, running her fingers down the sides of his face. His hair was getting long. The dark locks hung in his eyes.

"Mmm," Robbie hummed, grabbing her arm and pulling. Lia tumbled into his lap. She looked up to see Robbie's emerald gaze shining down on her.

"How long have you been awake?" he asked, brushing her hair back from her face causing delicious shivers up and down her spine.

"Not long," she said, her voice going noticeably husky. Robbie's green eyes darkened and he leaned close to her face.

"What were you doing?" he asked.

"Nothing," she said, her breath quickening. The look in his eyes made desire pool deep in her belly.

"What do you think we should do now?" he whispered, his breath tickling her skin.

"Well, we can't really do anything until Lark comes back," she whispered back nervously.

A slow grin spread over Robbie's face. "I can think of something," he said, running the pad of his thumb over Lia's lower lip.

Lia's mouth was open, but no sound was emitting from it. Her heart was beating so hard, it was almost deafening.

"Show me your favourite book."

"What?" she asked incredulously.

Robbie made a gesture with his hand. "You said earlier that you loved this room. Obviously, you would have to have had at least one favourite book in here."

He slid Lia beside him and stood up. Grabbing her hand, he hoisted her to her feet as well.

"So?" he said.

"So what?" she muttered petulantly. Robbie's grin widened, making Lia decend deeper into her sulk.

"Where would your favourite book be?"

"Over here," she said reluctantly. She led him over to the left wall where she climbed the ladder. At the seventeenth shelf up, she finally pulled out a book with a purple cover.

She climbed back down, the book firmly tucked under her right arm. She leapt down the last little bit of the ladder gracefully, having obviously done it a hundred times before.

"Here," she said, handing the book over almost shyly.

Robbie looked over the well worn, and obviously well loved, book. He ran his fingers over the golden script of the title.

"Ronald and Isabelle?" he asked, a touch of humour in his voice.

"Yes," she responded, her chin lifted defensively.

"What's it about?" Robbie opened the book and fanned through the pages.

"It's about a prince and princess from different countries, but they end up falling in love anyways," she said.

Robbie was about to respond when the library doors opened. His hand automatically went to his sword but only encountered empty air.

"Crap," he said, his eyes landing on where the sword lay, propped up beside the chair, where he had placed it the previous night.

"No worries, Robbie!" Lark called. "It is just me, your favourite Fey."

Lia declined to point out that Lark was the only Fey they knew, but instead asked about the large object Lark carried.

"Look what I found in the attic," Lark said, whipping off the cheesecloth that covered the object.

"Father?" Lia gasped.

It was a life size portrait of her father, looking regal and commanding like always.

"Lia?" the portrait responded.

Lia groaned. "Not you too, Father."

King Cornelius sighed and ran his hand through his straw coloured hair. "Yes, I'm afraid. Claire caught me posing for my portrait and I ended up here."

He cast a critical glance at his daughter. "Just what exactly are you wearing?"

Lia looked down at her filthy ensemble. "It's a long story, Father."

"That type of clothing usually is."

Robbie finished buckling his belt with his sword on. Lia motioned him over.

"Robbie, this is my father, King Cornelius Fer Drewery."

"Your majesty," Robbie said, bowing.

"Father," Lia continued, "this is Robert, my fiancé."

"_What_?" her father asked angrily. "What do you mean, fiancé?"

Lia nibbled her lower lip. "He asked me to marry him and I accepted. That makes him my fiancé."

"I know what fiancé means, Annalia-" Lia cringed at the use of her full name, "-I mean, when did this happen? Who is this man? Will he treat you for your full worth? What are you doing running around the castle in your underclothes with him? Where have you been these last two years?"

_Now I know where Lia gets it_, thought Robbie. He cleared his throat.

Cornelius shot him a glance and he suddenly realized that he was talking to the _king_.

"Your majesty," he said, bowing low, "I realize that you are concerned about your daughter's welfare, but I feel that Lia is not the daughter we need to be concerning ourselves with right now."

The king sighed and rubbed his temples with one hand. His other hand was propped on his hip, a stance Robbie had seen Lia take more than once.

"You are right, of course," the king admitted. "We need to talk about what to do with Clarissa. I would prefer that she not be killed, as she is my daughter."

Robbie nodded. "If we get her pool away from her, she is helpless again."

"But how will you manage that?" the king asked.

"I have this," Robbie answered shortly, displaying his sword. He sheathed it and stood tall in front of the picture of Lia's father.

"I will take good care of her," he said softly. The king stared at him as if he could see down into Robbie's soul. He nodded once.

Robbie and Lia were preparing to leave when her father called out to them with a slightly pained expression on his face.

"Could you at least wear something other than those clothes," he asked Lia.

"Lark?" she called.

"At your service, your Highness," he said, bowing his head slightly. He snapped his fingers and Lia was dressed in a simple dress of blue cotton.

"Thanks."

"Be careful!" the king called out to their backs as the door closed behind them.


	16. Happy Endings

(tears) Well, this is the end! I'd like to thank everyone who came along with me for the ride, and reviewed my work! You are all my heros!

**fell4adeadguy:** My finals aren't till January, luckily. But, if you ever need someone to rant to, feel free to come to me. (Yay for rhymes!)

**Tiger Lily21:** Thank you. :cD It was just because this chapter is so long, I just wanted to get something out there, even something short.

**UruvielTruviel:** Yes. Her father unfortunately has typical OPFS (Over Protective Father Syndrom), but he may warm up to Robbie. Here is the update, my last one for this story. (cries)

**naughty little munchkin:** Yes, apologies all around for the shortness and really, lack of plot drivingness, but I have this weird obsession with my stories being an even number of chapters, so instead of breaking this chapter into two, I decided to add an extra chapter of fluff andLia's father. And as for Claire's powers: I didn't really go into detail because as a Fey, Lark doesn't really like to give out too much information about the Faerie court. Basically, there was a Fey up there in Faerie land who didn't like the way the Fey King was running things. So, she(the nameless Fey) gave some of her powers to Clarissa, hoping to cause a little stir down in the Human world so that when the Faeries all came to try and straighten it out, she(again, the nameless Fey) could take over the Faerie court. She failed and was captured, but not before she gave Claire the powers and Claire started turning people into chairs and vice versa. Hope that cleared it up a little more for you. :cD

This story might be at an end, but I already have an idea for my next one, so I hope to see you guys around! Oh, and this is a Fairy tale, so I'm entitled to use that ending. XcD

Love, hugs, kisses, and lollipops

-Lulai

Chapter Sixteen: Happy Endings

"This is ridiculous, Robbie," Lia whispered emphatically as they crouched behind a stone column, waiting for a troop of guards to jog past. They had made it past most of the guards and were now waiting outside the corridor that lead to the throne room. Unfortunately, the only thing between them and Clarissa was a hallway lined with portraits and filled with guards.

"Do you have a better idea?" he asked irritably, looking at her with a raised eyebrow. "I'd love to hear it."

Lia glared right back. "I still don't think that storming the throne room and engaging my sister, not to mention all of her soldiers, to remove from her a pool that could be heaven-knows-what is the smartest move."

Robbie blew out his breath in a noisy gust and ran his fingers through his hair. "Fine. What do you suggest we do, then?"

Lia worried her lower lip. That habit was becoming increasingly endearing to him, even now in his annoyed state.

"Maybe I can talk to her," Lia said, drawing his attention up from her lips to her eyes. "You know, try and reason with her."

"Like that will work," Robbie snorted. "As I recall, you've already tried that. Twice."

Lia's lips tightened into a thin line, but then she sighed in acceptance. "You're probably right."

They crouched in silence for a few more moments.

"How about we do half of your plan, and half of mine?" she suggested finally, drawing his focus back to her.

"Meaning?"

"If you get us into the throne room, I'll try and distract Claire. Then you can start looking for what her pool might be."

Robbie nodded once.

"Okay," he agreed. "I guess we'll do that."

Then he pulled her into him and kissed her quite soundly.

"What was that for?" Lia asked breathlessly when he finally pulled away.

Robbie shot her a cheeky grin. "I just wanted too."

Robbie stood and began walking towards the double doors that lead to the throne room.

"Hey!" a guard shouted, and they rushed towards him. Without even breaking stride, Robbie managed to disarm them all and run a couple through. He continued down the hall.

Lia followed behind him, occasionally stepping over broken chairs and empty armour and shook her head. She was going to have some major reconstruction to do with all these chairs gone.

When the hallway was clear, Robbie turned to Lia, panting slightly.

_After you_, he motioned. Lia nodded and pushed open the doors to the throne room.

"Claire!" she bellowed as she walked forward. Robbie walked behind her, sword flying, disarming anyone who came up behind her. The rest of the court hurried to get out of the throne room. Robbie let them pass.

"You!" Clarissa said, standing up from her seat. Her perfect face was marred by a vicious scowl. "I should have known that you wouldn't just stay in that tower. You must always come back to bother me. You were always a thorn in my side."

"Not as much as you were a thorn in mine, dearest sister," Lia responded acidly. Robbie punched the last guard in the face and faded back into the woodwork, waiting for his opportunity to disarm Claire.

"Ha!" Claire sneered. "Does it bother you that I'm finally better than you at something?" She laughed cruelly, and stepped down from the dais to shake a finger in Lia's face. "You were always the perfect little daughter, so sweet and unassuming, all the time taking everything from me."

"What did I ever take from you?" Lia shouted, her hands thrown up in the air. "All I wanted was to be left alone! It was _you_ who was always interrupting me and bothering me with your petty problems."

"LIES!" Clarissa shouted, her face a mottled red. "When I was younger, Father doted on _me_, but after you were born, all he ever talked about was how perfect Annalia was." Her voice turned mocking. "'Oh, look how Lia can grow those plants. Oh, look how pretty Lia is. Oh, Lia Lia Lia.' The servants loved you more than they ever loved me! Then you stole away my fiancé! He was _mine_!"

"I never wanted him! He was after me!" Lia defended herself.

"It would have only been a little while before you would covet the crown as well," Clarissa continued as if she hadn't heard Lia. "I know you would! And Father would have gladly given it over to you, you selfish brat!"

"Me? Selfish? Listen, you silly twit-" Lia exclaimed.

"But now that I have the magic, I will banish you to the far corners of the Earth so that even the Faeries can't find you!" Clarissa screamed, holding her hands out in front of her.

"Ack!" Lia said, and ducked as a whiz of magic sailed over her head.

"Stop moving!" Clarissa said, sounding petulant. The emerald clasp in her hair glowed a sickly green. Suddenly, everything clicked together in her head.

"Robbie! Now! The barrette!" Lia yelled, dodging another bolt of magic. This one made the hair on the back of her neck stand up.

"Stay still so I can fry you, you stupid cow!" Clarissa screamed.

Robbie had been creeping up behind her during the exchange between the sisters and was now poised behind Claire, reaching to grab the barrette.

"Oh, no you don't!" Claire shrieked, whirling around to face him. A bolt of lightning shot out of Clarissa's hands, and Robbie instinctively threw up the sword to block it.

The force of the blast knocked him back a couple of feet, but he shook his head groggily and stood back up. When he raised his sword, however, he found that only the hilt remained. The blade lay in shattered pieces around him.

"Just stay there, lover boy," Clarissa sneered, and waved her hand. Instantly, a cage grew out of the floor and shut him in.

"Hey!" he said, banging on the bars.

Claire blew a kiss at him.

"What are you doing?" Lia asked incredulously.

"Well, since you stole my fiancé, I'm going to steal your boyfriend," Claire said, with a triumphant smile on her face.

"You are going to _marry_ him?" Lia asked disbelievingly.

"Of course not! But there are other things…" Claire levelled an earthly look at Robbie, and he couldn't help but shudder.

"No!" Lia shouted at her.

"Shut up," Claire said with a wave of her hand. Instantly, a blow to her chest threw Lia back several feet.

"Ooo!" Claire squealed. "That was fun!" She threw another blast at Lia, who had made it to her knees, which knocked her back again.

"That was for being prettier than me." A blast. "That was for being smarter than me." Another blast. "That's for stealing my fiancé."

Lia lay on the floor, feeling bruised and winded and quite defeated. Her hand came to rest on a metal breastplate leftover from one of the chair soldiers.

"It's been nice seeing you again, dear," Clarissa mocked, aiming for a final blow.

"Go screw yourself," Lia mumbled threw swollen lips. She rolled onto her back and brandished the breastplate in front of her.

The magic shattered the breastplate in her hands, but most of it managed to get reflected back to Claire, knocking her back into the bars of Robbie's cage.

Robbie had watched the brutal battering of Lia, feeling utterly helpless. His sword lay in ruins around him, and without it, he was nothing. He picked up a piece about four inches long, the only piece big enough to be salvageable.

His hand tightened around the piece as he watched Lia lying, half dead, on the floor. He was barely aware of the blade cutting into the flesh of his hand.

Then he saw Lia roll over and Claire flying back towards him. Robbie immediately took advantage of the situation, grabbing her hair. A thought flashed briefly through his mind about slashing her throat for even laying a finger on Lia, but he put it out of his head. Instead, he cut off her hair, including the piece with the emerald clasp on it.

"Give that back!" Clarissa screeched.

"Or what?" he said, backing into the centre of his cage. He dropped the emerald on the floor and stomped as hard as he could on it.

"No!" Claire screamed. He heard a small crack and a flash of light shot out from beneath his foot. The light shone so brightly that Robbie had to look away.

When it finally died down, all that was left was a broken barrette, totally devoid of magic. The bars of his cage had disappeared, and if Robbie had been paying attention, he would have noticed that all the chairs that lined the hall had become men again.

Claire lay on the floor in strong hysterics. She was sobbing wildly and grasping her short blonde hair as if to pull it out.

But Robbie's attention was fully concentrated on Lia, lying limply on the floor.

"Lia?" he asked, brushing her hair back from her face. It was covered with little cuts from the shattered breastplate and a small trickle of blood leaked from one corner of her lip. There was a slice through the arm of her dress which was stained with blood. "Lia, answer me!"

"What?" she said irritably, her eyebrows drawing together in a frown.

Robbie smiled in relief, taking her annoyance as a sign that she was okay.

He helped her to sit up. She moaned, and shook her head, opening her eyes.

"I think I cut my lip," she said, pressing a finger to the inside of her mouth.

"Yes, you might have," he said, hugging her to him.

"But we won, right?" she said, smiling at him.

"Yeah, we won," he smiled back.

"Good God, Robbie, your hand!" Lia exclaimed.

Robbie held up his palm, examining the cut that gouged across his palm. Lia was already ripping her hem.

"Here," she said, tying the strip of cloth around his hand. "I need some Retrina; that will help the healing. I know. I used it on your shoulder. Does it hurt a lot? Can you move your fingers? If you have cut your tendons, I'll be very put out with you-"

"Lia," Robbie interrupted, "I'm fine."

They sat there, smiling at each other, quite content.

"Put her in the Western Tower, and lock the door," a voice commanded. Lia looked over to see her father striding confidently into room.

"Lia!" he said, rushing over to her side. "Are you alright?"

"I'm _fine_," she said.

"Well, I see you've ripped your dress yet again," he said, but his stern face was lit with a smile.

"Yes, well," she stammered.

"Go with Guthra and get cleaned up," her father urged. "We'll talk when you're feeling better."

"I told you, I'm _fine_," she said, but she allowed her father and Robbie to lift her to her feet. Guthra took her arm.

As she began to walk away, though, she turned to give her father a glare. "Be nice."

Cornelius turned to Robbie, and Robbie swallowed nervously.

"Your majesty," he said bowing.

Cornelius pulled him into a huge hug, surprising the heck out of Robbie.

"Thank you," he said, "thank you for saving my daughter." He pulled back and held Robbie's shoulders, giving him a look down.

"I think you will make an excellent son-in-law," he said. "Go get cleaned up and we will talk about your marriage and subsequent coronation."

"Yes, your majesty," he said, bowing, still in a slight state of shock. He let a page take him to a room.

But, later, dressed in a crisp new blue doublet with his hand freshly wrapped, doubts began to assail him. His sword was broken, lying in a million pieces on the throne room floor. Without that sword, he wasn't a hero; he was a commoner, little more than a kitchen boy.

He couldn't make Lia marry him. If that happened, he would be a prince, then a king! He knew nothing of being a king. He couldn't fight, or strategize, or do anything kinglike.

Robbie needed to talk to Lia.

He walked down the corridor and knocked on Lia's door.

"Come in!" Lia's voice floated through the door. He opened the door. Lia sat in a white chair by the window, dressed in a beautiful dress of deep green. Guthra sat in the chair opposite her, knitting a suspiciously small pink garment.

"Oh, Robbie!" she exclaimed, laying down the book that she had been reading and rushing over to him. "How is your hand? Did the healers put Retrina on it? If not-"

"My hand is fine," he said quietly. "How are you? Are you alright?"

"I'm quite fine, thank you very much. A bruise on my hip and a deepish cut on my shoulder from the breastplate, but not much else." She patted her hip softly. "It'll be fine in a couple of days."

"That's great," Robbie said sincerely.

"So, are you only here to talk about my welfare, or did something else provoke your visit?" Lia asked.

"I am concerned about your welfare," Robbie answered honestly, "but I did come to talk to you about something else."

The seriousness in his tone reflected on Lia. She nodded to Guthra.

"Please leave us for a few moments," she asked.

Guthra nodded. She gathered her knitting and opened the door to the hallway.

She turned back with a sparkle in her eye. "Now, I'ma gonna be right outside this door, okay?" and closed the door quietly behind her.

Lia turned back to Robbie with a slight chuckle, but then frowned when Robbie didn't join her.

"What did you come to tell me?" she asked, blinking her devastatingly beautiful grey eyes at him.

Robbie took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Every time he looked at her, he wanted her. If he was going to go through with this, he had to block her from his sight. "I want you to know that I don't hold you to your promise of marriage," he said in a big rush.

When he opened his eyes again, Lia stood there, her mouth open, speechless.

"Why?" she finally managed, sitting down on the bed.

"Because," he said, "I'm not the kind of man that you should be marrying." He looked down at his hands. "Without that sword, I'm nothing."

"That doesn't matter," Lia said softly. "I love you, not the sword."

"But I was better with the sword!" Robbie protested. "With it, I was a hero, a hero worthy of a princess."

Lia stood again, her mouth in a thin line. "When I met you, did you have the sword?"

Robbie looked at her, confused. "No."

"Did the sword change how you felt about me?"

"Of course not!"

"Do you think I'm shallow?"

"No!" Frustrated, Robbie ran his hand through his hair. "You are a princess. You should want to marry a prince."

"If I had wanted to marry a prince, I would have married that Prince Frederick," Lia said, exasperated. "I want to marry _you_."

"But I'm just a commoner," Robbie said stubbornly. "You have to marry someone of rank. It's what's best for the kingdom."

Lia smiled, a huge smile that tugged at his heart.

"You," she said, poking him in the chest, "are not a common man. In fact, you are more of a prince than I am a princess."

"What?" Robbie gaped at her.

"Not by blood, but by spirit," Lia continued, waving her hands about as she weaved her story. "You are strong, brave, loyal, courageous, intelligent-"

"You are those things too," he said softly, capturing her hands in his own.

"Exactly!" she said, beaming at him for making her point for her. "So, if we share the same attributes, it doesn't matter about our bloodlines." She tugged her hands out of his to put her arms around his neck.

"I don't even know how to be a king!" Robbie protested, but with Lia pressed up against him like she was, his protestations were getting weaker.

"I'll help you!" Lia said. "Do you think I've learned nothing about ruling a kingdom?"

"No, but-"

"But you'll make an excellent king," she stated as if it were cold hard fact. "Even my father thinks so."

"Really?" Robbie asked, surprised.

"Really," Lia answered firmly. "Besides," she teased with a small pout. "If you break our engagement, you'll break my heart." She looked up at him with ridiculously sad eyes. "And you wouldn't want to break my heart and make me sad, would you?"

Robbie couldn't help himself. He laughed. And when Lia joined him, he laughed harder, and crushed her to him.

"No," he said, wiping tears of mirth from his eyes, "I can never make you sad."

"Good," she said with a satisfied smile.

"Stubborn wench," he said, resting his forehead against hers.

"Only as stubborn as you," she retorted with a grin.

"When I'm king, we'll have to fix that," he joked.

"In your dreams," she said with a snort.

He laughed again and she joined him. Their laughter soon turned into loving kisses.

"It will be hard going," Robbie said between kisses.

"I would have never expected it to be easy," Lia responded. "But we love each other. And that's what will hold us together."

"What do you think your father is going to do to Clarissa?" Robbie asked.

"Well," Lia said with a wicked grin, "I told him about this cozy little cottage I knew of…"

Laughing, Robbie kissed her again and they both lived happily ever after.


End file.
